Worth Fighting For
by whatsthatsound
Summary: Slash. Sequel to Hope for More. Raven and Chelsea are dating in secret. But, what will happen when their parents find out? What will happen when their classmates find out about them? Please, read and review.
1. Chapter 1

**Worth Fighting For**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 1

Swollen grey clouds slowly floated by above Raven and Chelsea, who were laying on a picnic blanket in the middle of the park. It had become their favorite place to hang out since they started dating. Raven glanced over at Chelsea, who was watching the clouds roll by. Two months. They had been dating for two months, and Raven couldn't be any happier than she was at this moment.

They were still keeping it a secret though. Only Eddie and Ben knew, and the girls had made them vow to keep their relationship on the, "down low" until they were ready to...announce it. Raven thought she was ready. She would scream it from the mountain tops if she could, but there were three things standing in her way. Tanya and Victor Baxter were two of the three. She didn't know how to tell them. Sure, they were cool, hip parents who loved their children very much, but you never can tell how a parent will react to the news that their child is homosexual.

Homosexual. What a word. It could mean so much and so little at the same time. Depending on a person's view, being gay can either mean attraction to the same sex, or attraction to the **SAME SEX**. Some would accept it as a natural lifestyle; you can't help who you like. Others view it as forbidden, unnatural, unholy...or just plain wrong.

Raven really didn't care for the word. To her, love was love. It shouldn't matter what gender the person is. Besides, she only loved Chelsea. She wasn't really attracted to any other girls...or guys. Chelsea Daniels was and would be the only person for her...she was sure of it.

Unfortunately, Chelsea was the third thing in her way. Chelsea didn't share Raven's feelings when it came to screaming "I love you's" from the mountain tops. Chelsea, like Raven, was afraid of what her parents would think, but she was more afraid of what the student body of Bayside High would think. Up until they started their relationship, Raven always thought that Chelsea was a very confident individual who carried herself well. She didn't know that Chelsea cared about what other people thought of her. It depressed her.

But, they couldn't hide it forever. Both girls knew that. And Raven was patient; she could wait until her girlfriend was ready. Girlfriend...now there was a word that Raven liked a lot.

"We should get going, it looks like it's gonna rain."

"So?" Chelsea said, looking at Raven; her eyes twinkling.

"Listen girl, I know you love to dance in the rain, but I just got my hair done. It can't get wet for twenty four hours."

"You should've brought an umbrella."

"Yeah well, I didn't plan on staying outside. I thought we were going to the movies. I didn't know we were gonna be here till you met me in front of the theater with a blanket in your hand."

"Isn't the park so much better though?"

Raven looked back up at the sky. "Yeah. I guess." Then, she sat up. "But I'm not staying here any longer. I'm hungry, and I want to be inside before it starts to pour."

Chelsea sat up too, stretching out her arms. "Okay, all right. You win." They stood up and Chelsea whispered. "But you owe me a dance missy. No excuses next time."

"Deal." Raven sighed, and then looked around the park. "Seal it with a kiss?"

Chelsea rolled her eyes. "Well, handshakes never do it for us anymore."

Raven laughed and scanned the park again. When she was sure they were alone, she kissed Chelsea quickly on the mouth. Chelsea smiled, and then bent down, grabbing the blanket and folding it up.

Thunder cracked above them. "Hurry up." Raven said as they began to quickly make their way down the path to the park's entrance.

She grabbed Chelsea's hand and began to run. Chelsea staggered on, not being able to keep up with her suddenly lightening fast friend. When they hit the streets where crowds of people walked, Chelsea pulled her hand from Raven's. Raven ignored it, it was routine by now.

"Over there." Raven pointed to the pizzaria across the street as the loud boom of thunder rolled above them.

They ran diagonally across the middle of the street, waving off the cars that slowed to let them pass. Just as Raven reached the door and the girls threw themselves inside, it began to rain.

"Whew." Raven said, looking out of the clear glass windows, watching people scatter. "That was close."

Chelsea rolled her eyes as they found an empty table in the corner of the pizzaria. "What would happen exactly if your hair did get wet?"

"You know Mufasa from 'The Lion King?'"

"Yeah?"

"We'd share a strong resemblance."

"Oh." Chelsea winced, understanding the severity of the situation. Raven nodded, making a 'poof' sound and moving her hands around her head, as if her hair were three feet wide on all sides.

The waitress approached them, watching Raven with mild interest. Raven noticed her and quickly put her hands down. The waitress grabbed her pen and notepad and said, "What can I get for you?"

"Two slices, one plain and the other full of vegetables. And two orange sodas."

"Is that all?" The waitress chewed, her pink gum swirling around in her mouth.

Raven looked at her nametag and smiled. "Yes, Flo. That will be all." Then she leaned in a whispered. "Hey Chels, look, it's your waitress name."

Chelsea looked at Raven, confused. The waitress looked up from her notepad, eyebrows raised.

Chelsea looked at the nametag and immediately turned red. "Raven." She muttered under her breath, putting a hand on her forehead and looking away in humiliation.

Flo looked at Raven for a moment, and then back at her notepad. "Okay. Your order will be ready in a few."

As the waitress walked away, Raven burst into laughter. Chelsea grabbed a napkin from the dispencer, crumpled it up, and threw it at Raven. "Jerk. I can't believe you said that in front of her!"

"Aw come on 'Flo.' I was just kidding around. Besides, she didn't even look like she cared."

"I forgot all about 'Flo.' I'm surprised you remember."

At that point, Raven stopped laughing. She looked deep into Chelsea's eyes and said, "You know, its weird. I remember alot of that stuff. A lot of the little things."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Then, Raven began to subtly move the table away from the wall. Chelsea pushed herself back a little, watching Raven with mild alarm.

"What are you doing?"

"Put your hand here." Raven whispered, putting her arm in the new space between the table and the wall.

"Why?"

"Trust me."

Chelsea looked at Raven and then hesitantly put her hand between the table and the wall, afraid of what was beyond what she could see. She jumped when she felt Raven's fingers intertwine with hers.

"What are you doing?" Chelsea whispered, looking around wildly.

"Chels, relax. No one can see us." Raven said, laughing a little. "I just want to hold your hand. It makes me feel...safe." She whispered.

Chelsea's eyes widened. "Oh Rae, I don't--"

Raven slipped her fingers from Chelsea's. "It's okay. I understand."

"No. It's good." Chelsea said, her eyes shining. "Please...don't let go."

Raven sighed happily, grabbing Chelsea's hand again.

They sat there in silence, losing themselves in each other's eyes. They only time they broke their gaze was when Flo returned with their order.

* * *

**_Author's Note: All right everyone, let me have it. Do you like it? Do you hate it? Do you care? _**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 2

After eating, the rain began to die down. Raven wrapped the blanket around her head as the girls walked to her house in the drizzle. When they reached Raven's, Tanya and Victor were sitting on the couch, watching television.

"Hey Mom, Dad." Raven said as she opened the door and they stepped inside. Tanya looked at the girls, but Victor didn't move.

Raven took the blanket off and threw it in the corner. "What'cha doing?"

"Your father and I are watching a movie."

Victor moved to the edge of his seat, his eyes glued to the screen. Raven moved in closer to see what it was they were watching. "What movie?"

"I don't really know. It about some guy who wants to be a chef, blah, blah blah." Tanya grumbled, clearly bored out of her mind.

"Ah, real 'edge of your seat' kind of movie." Raven said and Victor immediately shushed her.

"Where's Cory?" Raven whispered to her mother.

"At William's. He's sleeping over."

"Oh, cool."

"Shhh!" Victor hissed again and Raven took a step back.

"Okay, I get it. Come on Chels, let's go upstairs."

Chelsea nodded, waving to Tanya out of her usual politeness as they headed up the stairs. They reached the bedroom and Raven closed the door and locked it. "So...No one else is here..." She said, rubbing her hands together. "Totally alone...totally private..."

Chelsea lied down on Raven's bed and Raven jumped on it beside her. She bounced, and both girls laughed. Chelsea turned on her side, facing Raven and Raven followed. She pushed a strand of red hair behind Chelsea's ear, and kissed her gently on the mouth. Chelsea returned it with more passion than Raven, and it soon turned into a full-blown makeout session. Chelsea pushed her leg up against Raven's knees, and Raven draped one of her legs over Chelsea's, locking them together and tangling them up. They continued to kiss, barely coming up for air, when there was a knock at the door.

"Raven?"

Chelsea broke away, recognizing Tanya's voice sooner than her own daughter did. "Oh, your mother!" She gasped breathlessly.

"Raven, open up." Tanya said, knocking again.

The girls scrambled from the bed, tripping over one another in the process. Chelsea lost her balance and fell to the floor with an "ooff!" The thud was loud as well.

"What was that? Raven, open up!"

"Coming!" Raven said as sweetly as she could, helping Chelsea up off the floor. Chelsea mouthed that she was okay and began to fix her hair and straighten her clothes. She sat down in the desk chair, looking over the desk trying to find something to grab, like a book, or notes, or a compact disc...anything.

Raven fixed herself quickly, running down her three small steps and opening the door. Tanya stood there, leaning on the frame with her arms crossed. "What is going on up here? Why was the door locked?"

"Sorry Mom, I must've accidentally locked it. It happens sometimes."

"What was that bang?"

"Oh, that was a roll of material. I dropped it."

Tanya stepped in and looked around. Nothing seemed out of place, the window wasn't open and the room didn't smell like smoke or anything. She had a feeling something was going on in this room, but there was no evidence to confirm her suspicions. Maybe Raven was telling the truth.

"Yeah Rae, I think denim is the way to go." Chelsea said, turning around in the chair with a piece of paper in her hand.

"Uh-uh, really? I thought so too." Raven followed.

Tanya took the paper from Chelsea's hand. It was the design of a jacket that Raven was planning to make. She looked it over. "Huh. Don't you think corduroy would be better?"

"Cor-corduroy? Mom, please. I already have three curduroy jackets. I need a denim one."

Tanya handed the paper to Raven. "Well, whatever material you choose sweetie, I'm sure it'll turn out just fine."

"Thanks Mom."

Chelsea nodded, watching Tanya as she made her way to the door and headed out of the bedroom. "I'll be downstairs if you need me girls."

"Okay." Raven said, breathing a huge side of relief.

"Thanks Mrs. B." Chelsea said, swiveling the chair from left to right.

When she could hear Tanya's feet treading down the stairs, Raven ran to Chelsea. "Are you okay?" She asked, barely containing a laugh.

"My elbow hurts, but I think it's okay." Chelsea replied, and then started to laugh.

Soon, both girls were in hysterics, laughing until tears rolled down their cheeks.

"That was really close." Raven said gasping for air. Chelsea nodded.

"Too close."

The laughter died down soon after, as both girls contemplated what would have happened if Raven had forgotten to lock the door.

"It's gonna be harder to lock the door now." Raven said, sitting at the end of her bed.

"At least your bedroom door has a lock." Chelsea reasoned. "Mine doesn't, so my parents can come in whenever they want."

"So I guess making out at your house is a no-no."

"Definitely."

"Chelsea, I know it's scary...but don't you think we should tell them?"

"Raven..."

"We can't keep it a secret forever girl. You know that. Sooner or later, our parents are going to find out. And the later it gets, the more its going to hurt them."

Chelsea started to pick at her index finger's nail. "I know Rae. It's just...so scary when I think about it. My imagination is a real monster, because it always takes the worst possible scenario and turns it into reality for me. I can see them disowning me...hating me--"

"Chelsea they're your parents. They can't hate you. It's not in their nature. And I don't think they'll disown you. Your mother and father are both therapists, I'm sure they've both dealt with men and women in love with other men and women."

"Yeah, but those people aren't their kid."

"We can tell them together. I don't think it'll be that bad if we're there for each other."

Chelsea shook her head. "I'm not ready Rae. Please try to understand. Please."

Raven sighed in defeat. "Okay. But, it can't be too much longer. The longer we wait, the harder it's going to get."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

**_Author's Note: Hey, just wanted to tell you that since I have no idea what the names of Chelsea's parents are, I decided to make up names. That's all. Thanks for reading._**

Chapter 3

Charlene Daniels knew that something was going on with her daughter. She was a therapist and knew how to recognize a change in behavior, no matter how much Chelsea tried to hide it. That was something Charlene couldn't believe; her daughter was hiding something from her. Up until a few months ago, Chelsea told her mother everything. They had that open relationship, but it suddenly stopped. Chelsea started sneaking around and lying to her mother about where she had been or what she was doing. Their once long conversations about school and Chelsea's life turned into those horrible question/monosyllabic answer games.

_"How was school today?"_

_"Fine."_

_"Anything interesting happen?"_

_"No."_

Well, Charlene Daniels had had enough of it. She was going to find out what was going on with her daughter if it killed her. That's why, when Chelsea was out with her friend Raven, Charlene decided to search her daughter's bedroom for any clues. She felt guilty, but it wasn't as if Chelsea were going to talk to her openly about her problems. This was for her own good anyway.

She searched through Chelsea's drawers, moving her clothes around slowly so they didn't fall out of place. Nothing.

She looked through the closet, in the few boxes that Chelsea kept in there. Nothing but shoes and an old photo album.

She sifted through Chelsea's notebooks on her desk. Maybe something would show up there. But nothing.

Charlene bit her fingernail as she spun around on her heel, trying to find more possible hiding spots. She lifted the mattress. Maybe under the bed---

"What are you doing?" A high-pitched voice asked from behind her. Charlene turned, dreading the upcoming confrontation.

"Chelsea, honey...I-I was just--"

"Looking for something?" Chelsea asked sarcastically, motioning toward the mattress that Charlene had in her hand. Charlene dropped it, flinching at the 'fwop' it made as it hit the frame.

"What are you doing Mom? Going through my things?"

"I'm sorry Chelsea. I didn't want to do this, but you didn't leave me much of a choice. I've noticed a change in your behavior lately, and I would like to get to the bottom of it."

Chelsea felt her insides tie into knots as her heartbeat picked up speed. "Wh-what?"

"You're never around, we never talk about things like we used to. You just give me one word answers and then leave the room. I don't understand what is happening with you, but I would like to."

"You wouldn't understand." Chelsea said in a low whisper. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears. She had just told Raven that she wasn't ready for this conversation, and here it was, happening in her own bedroom.

Charlene moved closer to her daughter, feeling the anxiety radiating off of the teen. "You know that you can tell me anything sweetie. I'm here to help you."

"I'm afraid Mom." Chelsea whispered, backing away from her mother.

"Whatever it is, you can tell me."

Chelsea shook her head. "No. No. I can't."

"You must."

"I can't."

"Chelsea Daniels..."

"Mom!"

Charlene always regretted discipling her daughter and was thankful that she didn't have to do it often, but she had no other choice in her mind. "If you're not going to tell me, I'm afraid there's only one thing left for me to do. Chelsea, I love you, but I'm going to have to ground you."

"What?"

"Until you can tell me what is going on, you're grounded."

"But Mom--"

"No 'buts' honey. There will also be no television, radio, phone or internet. There will be no hanging out with Eddie or Raven. There will only be school and home and that is it."

Chelsea bit her bottom lip; tears began to pool in her eyes. "You can't do that."

"I can, and I will." Charlene threatened, but her heart was slowly breaking. "And if you can't tell me, maybe you can tell my collegue, Dr. Franklin."

Chelsea ran a hand through her hair, looking away from her mother. This was unbelievable. "A therapist? Mom, you can't be serious. I'm not doing anything wrong! You can't just ground me and send me to therapy for no reason! It's not fair!"

"You're scaring me. You've never acted this way before. Tell me what's wrong, honey."

Chelsea looked at her mother, whose own eyes shined with tears.

Charlene knew all of the tricks. She dealt with the children of posessive, controlling mothers who never gave their child space. She knew that all she had to do was make her daughter feel guilty, and Chelsea would tell her everything. The question was though, did she really want to do that to her child?

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Sweetie please. You're breaking my heart. I'm worried sick for you."

"Oh Mom." Chelsea put her face in her hands, sitting down on the messed mattress. This was it. She had run out of ideas. Her mother wasn't backing down, and on top of it, she was making Chelsea feel very guilty. "Okay." She whispered. "I'll tell you."

Charlene folded her hands and brought them up to her heart, feeling it pounding beneath her blouse. Was it drugs? Was she pregnant? Was she depressed? All of these questions and more raced through her mind as Chelsea internally searched for the courage to speak.

"Mom?"

"Yes honey."

"I think I'm in love...with Raven Baxter."

Charlene's hands unfolded and dropped to her sides.

* * *

Tanya was drying the last cleaned dinner dish, going over a number of court cases in her mind for a test when the phone rang. She dried her hands quickly and threw the dish towel over her shoulder, racing to the phone and saying, "I got it!"

She picked it up a ring before the machine would have answered and said, "Hello?"

"Tanya?" A voice barely whispered over the phone.

"Yes, this is she. May I ask whose calling?"

"It's Charlene Daniels."

"Charlene hey! How is everything?"

"Okay. I was just calling to see if you, Victor and Raven could come to our house as soon as you possibly could."

"Um...is something wrong?"

"I've just had a long talk with Chelsea, and it involves your daughter. I feel that we need to speak immediately, but not over the phone. So, what would be a good time for you?"

"Well, now I suppose. I'll tell Victor and Raven."

"All right. Thank you Tanya. I'll see you soon."

"Yes. Bye now."

"Bye." Tanya hung up, slowly grabbing the towel off of her shoulder and rubbing her hands with it. After a minute of trying to figure out what this could possibly be about, Tanya walked into the living room. Victor and Raven were watching television.

Victor noticed Tanya enter first. "Hey honey. Who was that on the phone?"

"That...was Charlene Daniels." Tanya said, noticing Raven straighten up in her seat. "She would like all of us to come over right now to discuss something about Chelsea and our daughter."

Raven felt her face grow cold as all of the blood rushed from it. Suddenly, things became blurry.

Tanya turned to her daughter, crossing her arms. "So, do you want to tell me what this is all about?"

Victor and Tanya stared at Raven who blinked a few times but said nothing.

"Raven?" Victor asked with concern, seeing his daughter's face turn ashen.

"I-I think we should wait until we get to Chelsea's." Raven answered meekly, standing up. "I'll be in the car."

"Not so fast young lady. You will tell us now." Tanya said sternly, grabbing Raven's arm.

Raven looked at her arm and then back at Tanya. "I want to wait."

"It's okay Tanya." Victor said. "We're going to find out anyway. Let's just go."

Tanya reluctantly let go of Raven, who promptly ran for the car. Victor stood up and put his hands on Tanya's shoulders, slightly massaging them. "What's this all about?"

"I don't know."

"Well, let's not get upset just yet."

Tanya nodded, but it didn't ease her worry. "Okay."

They walked outside, where Tanya's worries were only increased when she saw Raven silently gagging by the side of the car.

* * *

They were greeted at the door by the very pensive Chester Daniels and immediatly seated in the living room. Chelsea was sitting on the chair by their fireplace; tears slowly running down her flushed cheeks. Raven sat down on the arm, widening her eyes. Chelsea nodded and Raven became more pale than before.

Victor and Tanya took a seat on the couch perpendicular to the coffee table while Chester and Charlene sat across from them. Chester reached down and grabbed his glass of whiskey, taking a small sip.

"Okay, would someone like to tell us just what is going on here?" Tanya said louder than she wanted to. She couldn't help it. Panic was taking over.

"Well," Charlene said, sipping her own alcoholic beverage, "it has recently come to our attention that our daughter Chelsea and your daughter Raven...have been dating."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 4

It took both Tanya and Victor a minute to process what Charlene had just said, but when it hit, both of their eyes fell upon Raven, who seemed to shrink into the chair. Tanya zeroed in on Raven's right hand...which was gripping Chelsea's very tightly.

"Raven?" Victor said, his voice cracking. "Is this true?"

A single tear rolled down Raven's cheek. "Yeah." She managed to whisper, despite the suffocating lump forming in her throat.

"Drink?" Chester asked, and both Tanya and Victor nodded absent-mindedly. Chester stood up and went to the kitchen to fix more drinks.

Raven stood up and cautiously walked over to her parents. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I was scared to."

Both of her parents just stared at her, but she couldn't read them. Too many emotions were finding a way onto their faces, and she couldn't make out whether they were sad, angry, disappointed or scared.

"Say something."

"Oh baby." Tanya answered, tears glistening in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't know how you'd react."

"It appears that they have been hiding their feelings for months--" Charlene began.

"Two months." Raven interrupted.

"Two months?" Victor asked, looking from Raven to Chelsea, and then back to Raven.

"So, what do you think?" Raven asked, sitting by her parents. Both Tanya and Victor looked to Charlene and then to Chester, who returned with the drinks, handing one to each of them.

"How do you feel about it?" Tanya asked, while Chester took his seat.

"Well, we've discussed the situation with Chelsea and it appears that Raven makes her very happy." He stated, as if he were talking about a patient.

Raven looked at Chelsea, who nodded. Raven gave her a small smile, and she returned it.

"Do...you feel the same way?" Tanya turned to Raven, casting a sidways glance at Chelsea.

Raven nodded. "She makes me very happy Mom. Happier than I've been in a long time."

"And...if it is indeed what our Chelsea wants, we see no reason to go against it." Chester added, taking his wife's hand. Charlene looked at him, smiling a little, showing that she agreed.

"So, you're okay with this?" Raven asked the Daniels and they both seemed to sigh.

"It's going to take some getting used to. But we aren't going to try to keep you two apart." Charlene said shakily. "That is, if Victor and Tanya feel the same."

Both of the Baxters sipped their drinks simultaneously, staring off into space, lost in their minds. Raven watched as their faces went blank, emotionless. It scared her.

"Mom? Dad?"

Tanya looked at Chelsea again, remembering the little girl that used to come over to their house with a weird animal, bug, or object in her hand. It was always something she found on the way, and she always felt the need to show Raven first. She thought about Raven and Chelsea playing in her backyard together, laughing and screaming and running around. The innocent days. Tanya wanted them back. Hell, she wanted the last hour back. That was part of the innocent days too.

Then, she thought about what happened just a few short hours ago, when she went up to her daughter's room and found the door locked. They had been doing something up there...something together. Something that she would usually ground Raven for if it had been a boy up there instead of Chelsea. And then it hit her. Tanya probably would never catch Raven locked in her room with a boy again. Was this real? Maybe if she pinched herself---

"Mom. Dad." Raven said again, only louder, and they both glanced at their daughter.

"We'll have to discuss this at home." Tanya said quickly, getting up off the couch.

"What? But Mom--"

Tanya shook her head. "In the car Raven, now." There was an unusual force in her voice that told Raven not to say anything more. Raven exchanged a pained glance with Chelsea as she defeatedly grabbed her coat.

"Good to see you again Victor." Chester said, extending his hand. Victor grabbed it and they shook.

"Chester. Charlene." Victor mumbled, still in a daze.

"We'll call you tomorrow." Tanya said to Charlene as she walked them to the door.

"That's fine." Charlene said. "Are you okay to drive?"

"I think we'll make it." Tanya laughed nervously. Her mind was still reeling from the entire experience.

"Okay. I'll talk to you tomorrow then."

"All right." Tanya walked out the door and Charlene closed it.

* * *

They sat in silence at the kitchen table for fifteen minutes. Tanya and Victor sat on one side and Raven sat all alone across from them, looking at her hands. Tanya thanked God that Cory was at William's; she didn't know what she would do with him if he were here now.

Raven couldn't handle the silence any longer. "What are we doing?"

"Hmm?" Victor answered, his eyes somewhat glazed over.

"We need to talk about this. I'm dating Chelsea. Yeah, I'm dating her. And I need to know how you feel."

"Honey, do you realize what your doing here?" Tanya asked leaning her elbows on the table.

"Yes."

"What is it that you're doing?"

"Going out with Chelsea."

"You realize that this implies that you-you are...you are a--"

"Lesbian, Mom. Thank you. I know that, but I don't care. I'm still me when it comes to everything else."

Victor closed his eyes at "Lesbian," and hadn't opened them yet. Raven wondered what was going through his head. He looked sick; he might even faint. Raven often thought of the impact this would have on her parents, but she didn't realize it would leave them so paralyzed.

"You don't care?"

"No. Mom, I know that this is coming as a great big shock to you and Dad, but...I love her. I love Chelsea. And yes, she's a girl, but does that really have to matter?"

"I think it matters quite a bit Raven. I assume that nobody else knows since you didn't even tell us what was going on?" Tanya asked calmly, but she wanted to yell. She was scared for her daughter.

"Eddie knows. Ben, Chelsea's ex-boyfriend, knows too. But they're keeping it a secret."

"What do you think will happen when kids at your school find out?"

"I dunno." Raven shrugged. "It's not like we've announced it to the world. Chelsea wants to keep it a secret."

"That's because Chelsea understands the danger that you both are in."

"What are you talking about?"

"Raven, honey, people aren't going to be that accepting. I know you think that in this day and age, homosexuality should just be accepted, but a lot of people are still very against it. They can become threatening and violent when it comes to people who are different. Do you understand me sweetie?" Tanya grabbed one of Raven's hands.

"I understand." Raven said, squeezing her mother's hand to comfort her, "But...I can't help how I feel. I've loved Chelsea for a while now, even before we started dating, and I'm sure that I'll love her forever. She's the only girl for me, and I know it's hard to deal with, but I'm not going to let her go."

Victor opened his eyes and studied his daughter's face. She was 100 percent sincere. She meant every word. Suddenly, he saw his little girl. His little five-year-old Raven who helped him break eggs and stir cookie batter. His eyes teared up as he watched his smiling little daughter standing on a chair next to the counter, trying her best to smooth out the clumps of cookie dough in the bowl. She was fading away, her cute features becoming more and more transparent as this older Raven that he didn't know anymore tried to explain her love for another girl.

He swallowed a painful sob as the little girl in the counter raised the wooden spoon in triumph, yelling, "_Daddy, I did it_!" faded away into nothingness.

"Try to remember back a few months, when you guys were worried about me. I was depressed, avoidant, and quiet. I didn't eat, I barely slept...I was a zombie. Remember?"

Both Tanya and Victor nodded.

"Do you see how happy I am now? That's all because of Chelsea. Without her, I don't know what I would do. I love you both so much, but you can't keep me away from her. Please, you can't."

Tanya looked at Victor, who folded his hands under his nose, his lips pressing up against his thumbs. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but she knew what had to be done. She thought about parents who disowned and abandonded their children once they "came out." It was terrible that these parents and children couldn't even talk to one another because of sexual preference. Tanya promised herself on the day that Raven was born that she was going to support her daughter no matter what. She wasn't going to lose her daughter because of this.

"It's going to be very hard to get used to." Tanya said, shaking her head. "But, I'm not going to try to keep you girls apart."

"Really?" Raven nearly squealed, her whole face lighting up.

"Victor? What do you say?"

Victor looked at Raven. She wasn't his little girl anymore. She was nearly a full grown woman, and he had to accept it. He didn't want to hurt her. He loved her. "I love you. I want you to be happy baby girl." He said, his voice cracking as tears burned his eyes.

"I love you too Daddy." Raven said, tears of both joy and sadness pooled in her eyes. She stood up as Victor stood, and they both hugged one another very tightly. Tanya was next, already crying at the deep emotion that Victor showed.

She hugged her daughter tightly, whispering, "I love you so much."

"I love you too Mom."

Tanya kissed her daughter on the cheek, and Raven hugged her tighter.

They embraced for several minutes, crying, when Tanya looked at the clock. It was over. She and Victor had made their decision and they were sticking to it. "Oh, it's late. We should get to bed."

Raven nodded as they broke apart. "Thank you. I love you guys."

"We love you too Raven, no matter what." Tanya said.

Raven nodded and then ran up he stairs to her bedroom.

Tanya turned to Victor, releasing shaky air. "What are you thinking?"

"What happened to our baby girl?"

"She grew up Victor...and fell in love with her best friend."

Victor shook his head. He didn't want to tell his wife that he was having a hard time dealing with it. How could Raven love Chelsea? She was always talking about all of the guys she liked. She went out with Devon for a long time...where had things changed? It threw him for a loop. If it had been Eddie that Raven was in love with, Victor was sure wouldn't have such a hard time. Sure, he wouldn't like it at first, but he would get used to it. He would sit Eddie down and talk to him about the way his daughter should be treated. All fathers do that with their daughters' boyfriends. But he couldn't have that conversation with Chelsea, who was also like a daughter to him. It was all so confusing...Victor didn't know what to think or do. Maybe just accepting it would be the best thing, but he didn't know how to do that just yet.

* * *

Raven was on the phone as soon as she hit the bedroom. She dialed Chelsea's number quickly, stamping her foot impatiently as the phone continuously rang. Suddenly, the ringing stopped and that soft voice she so desperately needed to hear was on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Chelsea."

"Rae? Oh God, how'd they take it?"

"It was really hard girl...but they're not gonna stand in the way."

"Really?"

"Really." Raven cried as tears of joy and relief ran down her cheeks.

"I was so scared." Chelsea sniffled, telling Raven that she was crying as well.

"It's okay now. We did it and our parents did freak a little, but they're gonna accept it."

She could hear Chelsea breathing deeply on the other end. "We can't tell anyone else though."

"I know Chels, believe me. I don't want to go through any more of this for quite some time."

There was silence; it wasn't awkward, but it hung heavy in the room. After a few moments, Raven broke it.

"Okay well, I better get off the phone in case my parents come in. I'll see you soon."

"Okay."

"I love you Chelsea."

"You too." Chelsea replied, and Raven felt her heart droop. Chelsea wasn't ready yet, and Raven knew that, but it still hurt a little.

She hung up, plopping down on her bed. Some day this had been. It left her completely exhausted, but feeling much better. Having her parents know was such a large weight off of Raven's shoulders; she felt lighter.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 5

Sunday came and went and Chelsea and Raven thought it best if they didn't see each other. Keeping their distance seemed to help both sets of parents accept it. They had a whole day to think about it and come to a more concrete conclusion like, "It's okay, it doesn't change anything too much, and life can carry on." Not, "It'll be hard, but we'll accept it."

Both girls didn't know if their parents could think that way if they had gone out together that Sunday. Raven thought that all her parents would think about is what she and Chelsea were doing.

So, Monday rolled around, and the girls met and talked in school like they were best friends, instead of a couple. And the day was going fine, until Spanish class.

Senorita Rodriguez was talking about pronunciation of past tense verbs, and Raven was yawning. They had been reviewing the same thing for two weeks. If the rest of the class didn't know it by now, they weren't going to get it. The other thing with Spanish class was that Chelsea sat three seats behind Raven, which meant that note passing was harder since the kids between them were nosey bast--

**RING! RING! RING!**

"Okay class, that is the fire drill bell. Por favor, form one line and slowly walk out of the room." Senorita Rodriguez clapped her hands together, more excited about the break in class time than the actual class. She hurried from the room, ahead of all of her students. Raven rolled her eyes. Teachers were supposed to stay and make sure that all of the kids got out of the room. She hoped that if there ever was a fire, she would be in any other class but this one. Senorita would probably push kids out of the way to get to the exits.

Raven stood, turning and letting the kids behind her move past her; she was waiting for Chelsea. Chelsea closed her binder and stood up, fixing her shirt. She met up with Raven, who smiled.

"Thank God." Raven whispered dramatically. The girls laughed, starting to follow the rest of the class. They didn't get two steps before they bumped into him.

Rocky Collera, Bayside's oldest and most feared deliquent.

Rocky wasn't tall; he stood at a towering 5'10", but what he lacked in height, he made up for in bullying. His greasy, shoulder length black hair covered his piercing blue eyes and scruffy face. His old, tattered leather jacket stretched over his broad back and strong arms. The buckles hung loosely, clicking every so often when he moved. (When you heard that sound, you ran, no matter where you were.) The black heavy metal t-shirts he wore definitely saw better days; the band names and pictures were faded and cracked. Dark blue denim jeans and black biker boots finished off the fearsome ensemble. He smelled of oil and cigarettes, and he looked like he hadn't showered in days.

"S-sorry." Chelsea stammered, avoiding all eye contact. Rocky was well known for torturing any girl that caught his eye, and she didn't feel like being his target today.

"Ladies." Rocky hissed, his deep, raspy voice only adding to his creepy image. His cracked lips curled around his teeth, exposing slightly yellow canines that Raven always thought were too long for a human. "Aren't we looking fine this morning?"

"Yeah." Raven said quickly, grabbing Chelsea's arm and moving past Rocky quickly. The classroom was almost empty, and Raven didn't want to be alone with him.

"Hey, stay with me. Let's talk." Rocky said, moving quickly toward them. Raven shook her head and pulled Chelsea out of the room, catching up with the rest of the class. Chelsea looked back. Rocky was standing in the classroom door, smiling menacingly. He didn't leave the room though, and she was thankful.

"Oh God, could he be any more disgusting?" Raven asked, shuddering.

"And creepy?" Chelsea added, shaking off the bad vibe she got from him.

"You know, I heard that he went out with Bianca for like two days. But he was so scary, that she had to break up with him. And she didn't come to school for three days because she was scared of what he would do."

"Bianca? Really?" Chelsea asked, surprised. "I thought she'd be tough enough to handle him."

"No way girl. Besides, he's too old for her. I heard he was 19."

"But why stay in school?"

They followed the rest of the student body outside and across the street. The crowd was loud and chaotic, but Raven and Chelsea tuned them out.

Raven shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he enjoys coming to school, making everyone's lives miserable. Psychos like that kind of stuff."

"You know, we've successfully avoided him for three years. Why does he have to zero in on us now?" Chelsea whined.

"I don't know. We might be the only ones he hasn't bothered yet."

"Yeah well, I hope he stops after today. I don't even want to go back to class."

"I doubt he'll be there. He's probably in the boys bathroom with the rest of his nasty gang."

Rocky's gang wasn't large, but it was fierce. There was Michael Whitman, his secondhand man. Michael was silent but intimidating, dumb as a stump, and did anything that Rocky told him to. He was taller than Rocky, leaner and faster. If by some miracle, a freshman managed to outrun Rocky, Michael caught them and held them down until Rocky got there. Michael always wore the same thing: a black, ripped, male tank-top and greasy blue jeans, accompanied by black combat boots.

Then, there was Tyrone Jacobs. His bald head was covered in small, slightly discolored scars and he always wore dark sunglasses, even in class. He wore a black hoodie, black jeans, and black converse sneakers. This boy was silent and deadly. You didn't hear him coming until it was too late.

And last, but not least, was Deckland O'Malley. Deckland was a transfer student from Ireland and had hooked up with the gang last year. He had a wicked temper. He was loud, obnoxious, and downright mean. He was always ready for a fight and challenged any boy who dared to look at him the wrong way. Most of the time however, Deckland started it and you couldn't get out of a confrontation if you tried. He respected and listened to no one but Rocky. Deckland's short, firey red hair was accented by the emerald green button down silk shirt that he wore over a white male tank top and dirty blue jeans he tucked into his black combat boots.

Those four menaces were it, but they were more than enough. When they were in school (which wasn't the case for a lot of the year), everyone was fair game. If you got in their way, you prayed for an early end. Most of the time, boys were the victims of violence, but the girls got their fair share of harrassment from this dangerous crew. Nobody challenged them and everybody feared them.

Raven, Eddie and Chelsea had managed to fly under their deadly radar for three years, but now it seemed their luck was about to change for the worse. And it couldn't have come at a more complicated time.

Raven sighed as students began to file back into the school, dreading seeing Rocky in class. To both her and Chelsea's relief, however, Rocky wasn't there.

The rest of the day carried on as normal, with Rocky and his crew nowhere in sight. Then, school ended, and Raven, Eddie and Chelsea got stuff from their lockers and headed out the door. They walked down the school steps, talking about the day, when suddenly that familiar, spine chilling, raspy voice called out to them.

"Ladies!"

Raven and Chelsea turned as Eddie walked on. He stopped a few feet ahead, and turned around, growing pale at the sight of Rocky and his gang.

Raven and Chelsea stood frozen in place as Rocky addressed them from across the way. The others were leaning up against the brick wall of the school. All of them were smoking. Rocky didn't move toward them, instead, he stepped back and put a hand on his friend Michael's shoulder.

"Hey Red, my friend here likes you." Rocky shouted, but it came out muffled by the cigarette he held in his mouth. Chelsea could feel her face turn red. Michael just stared at her, burning holes through her with his intense gaze.

Raven's face scrunched in disgust. "Ew." She whispered just loud enough for only herself to hear. Getting over her initial paralysis, Raven grabbed Chelsea by the wrist. "Come on Chels, ignore him." She pulled Chelsea, who took a minute to get her legs working.

"So what'll it be?" Rocky called after them as they hurried off. He didn't give chase though, and all three teens sighed in relief as they moved out of sight.

"Hey Rae, Chels, do you have any idea who that is?" Eddie asked as they rounded the corner to Raven's block.

"Who doesn't know who that is?" Raven asked Eddie, shooting him an annoyed glare.

"What did you do to grab Rocky Collera's attention?"

"Nothing. He took a liking to us in Spanish."

"Man Rae, this is serious. You think he was serious about Mike liking Chelsea?"

"I don't know and I don't care Eddie."

"He didn't like me." Chelsea cut in, her voice barely above a whisper. "But he wanted me. I could see it."

"Yeah well, he can't have you." Raven said, hooking arms with Chelsea, trying to make her feel better. "You're taken."

Raven could feel the goosebumps on Chelsea's arm. They had spooked her bad, and that made Raven furious. How dare they pick on her like that.

"Y'all better watch out." Eddie said, shaking his head. "Rocky is serious business."

"Will you hush!" Raven said, annoyed. "She's scared enough as it is." She whispered sternly at Eddie.

"You should be too. And you should pray that tomorrow, Rocky and his friends forget about you."

"You're killing me here." Raven said as they made their way up the stairs to Raven's porch. Raven unhooked arms with Chelsea, grabbed her keys from her pocket, and opened the door.

"Hello? Anyone home?"

There was no answer. Nobody was home yet. Raven and Chelsea stepped inside, but Eddie didn't. "I gotta go meet Chantel. I'll pray for y'all okay?"

"All right Eddie." Raven answered, rolling her eyes and throwing her bookbag in the corner by the closet.

"Bye." Chelsea said, doing the same.

Eddie left and Raven closed the door. Chelsea sat down on the couch, looking over at Raven. "Do you think they'll forget?"

"Yeah, I'm sure they've forgotten already Chels." Raven shrugged it off, taking a seat next to Chelsea.

"I really don't need them to hassle us right now, with everything that's going on."

"Don't worry Chelsea. Everything's gonna be fine. Rocky and his stupid crew don't make up a whole brain combined. They'll probably go pillage or whatever it is they do, and they'll forget all about us. I swear."

Raven moved in closer to Chelsea, putting an arm around her for comfort. She gently started to kiss Chelsea's neck. Chelsea closed her eyes, tilting her head to the side a little, giving Raven more access. Raven started at her jawline and planted slow, soft kisses all the way down her neck to her collarbone, nuzzling it a little with her nose. Chelsea turned her head just as Raven moved upward, catching Raven's lips on hers.

"Feeling...better?" Raven asked between short kisses.

"Much..." Chelsea replied, a smile spreading across her face.

"Good." Raven grabbed Chelsea's hand and gave it a quick squeeze before getting up. "Come on, let's go to the kitchen and start on our homework."

"Why?" Chelsea asked, looking up at Raven, clearly not ready to stop kissing.

"My parents and Cory could be home any minute. I don't think they need to see us kissing after just telling them on Saturday. I don't want to shock them too much. It's gotta be gradual, or they might flip. Plus, Cory doesn't know. And, doing our homework in the kitchen where they can see us will probably make them feel...normal."

"All right." Chelsea sighed, disappointed, but understanding. "I'll get the stuff. You go get me a soda."

"Yes ma'me." Raven nodded, heading into the kitchen.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 6

Victor and Tanya arrived home a little after five with a substantially large amount of groceries. Each parent carried a big stack in their hands, their faces covered by brown paper.

"Raven! Cory!" Tanya called, staggering into the kitchen with the bags. "Come help us!"

"Mom, I'm right here." Raven said, grabbing a teetering bag before it fell to the floor.

"Oh, thank yo--" Tanya said, but then caught sight of Chelsea standing behind Raven.

"Hi...Mrs. Baxter." Chelsea said uncomfortably.

Suddenly, Victor entered, his eyes also blocked by big bags. "A little help here!"

Chelsea ran forward and grabbed two of the bags and set them down on the counter. When Victor saw who helped him, he stopped moving.

"Hi." Chelsea said again, looking at Raven.

"Okay." Raven said, putting her bag on the counter. "Cory is upstairs in his room, playing a video game, so he's not going to help. And Chels and I were just finishing homework. So, is this going to continue to be an awkward moment, or do you need help with the groceries?"

Victor looked at Tanya and then at the table. It was covered in open notebooks and empty cans of soda. "Sorry." He mumbled, setting his bags down as well. "There's some more in the car."

"Okay then." Raven said. "Come on Chels, let's go get them."

"All right." Chelsea nodded, looking at both Tanya and Victor before leaving the room.

"Well, that went over smoothly." Tanya said, beginning to unpack the bags.

"It just took me by surprise."

"It took us by surprise Victor. But that can't happen. Before, we didn't mind if Chelsea was over."

"That was before we found out she was dating our daughter."

"They were just doing homework. They're smart girls. They weren't doing anything...with Cory in the house."

"I don't know if I can get used to this."

"We will Victor. We will." Tanya patted her husband on the back, rubbing it a little to comfort him. Victor took a deep breath and began to help with the bags.

* * *

Raven took the last bag out of the car and shut the trunk. Chelsea stood there with bags in each arm, worry plastered all over her face.

"It's okay Chelsea. We just caught them off guard."

"It was weird in there Rae. It never, ever used to be like that."

"Yeah well, before, our parents thought we were just best friends. It's gonna be weird."

"I don't like it. I don't like the way Mr. and Mrs. B look at me. It makes me feel bad."

"I'm sorry." Raven said, wanting to hug Chelsea very badly. "I'm sure when we go to your house, your parents will look at me just like that."

"Oh, that's makes me feel so much better."

Raven laughed a little and then sighed. "It'll get better Chels. I promise. This is just the beginning. Once they get used to it, things will turn back to normal."

"I hope so." Chelsea sighed as they went inside the house.

* * *

Once all of the food was unpacked and put away, Chelsea began to gather her books. "I'm gonna get going."

Raven looked at Tanya and Victor, her eyes widening as she quickly moved her head toward Chelsea. Tanya took the hint.

"Oh! Um...Chelsea, w-would you like to stay for dinner?"

Chelsea looked at Tanya and then Raven, smiling. "No thanks. I'm just gonna go."

Chelsea thought she saw Victor heave a sigh of relief, but she wasn't sure.

"I'll walk you out." Raven said, glaring at her parents.

Chelsea nodded. "Bye."

"Bye Chelsea. Thanks for your help." Tanya said as nicely as she could. Victor just nodded.

Once in the living room, Raven growled. "Oh, I can't believe them!"

"I thought you said that it was normal for them to feel this way."

"Yeah, but they don't have to be rude about it. I'm sorry for that back there. Are you okay?"

"Don't worry about it." Chelsea said, stepping up the small stairway to the door and turning. "I guess I can see where they're coming from."

Raven nodded, understanding. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Yeah." Chelsea said, giving Raven a quick kiss on the lips.

"Bye." Raven said as she let Chelsea out.

She turned in a huff, stomping toward the kitchen. Victor and Tanya were sitting at the table.

"What was that?"

"We're sorry sweetie. We didn't mean to--" Tanya began, but Raven cut her off.

"Yeah well, Chelsea feels horrible now, thanks a lot."

"We said we were sorry." Victor stated firmly. "It's not easy for us Raven."

"I know. I know." Raven said, shuffling over to the table and sitting down by her mother. "But what do you want? Are you going to forbid Chelsea from ever coming over here? Huh? Or are you going to do what you said and accept it?"

Tanya sighed heavily and Victor rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hands. Raven crossed her arms and slouched back in the chair. She didn't know what she would do if they said they were having second thoughts about the whole thing.

Finally, Tanya answered. "We're going to...try to act more regular around Chelsea. Okay? That's all we can promise right now."

"That's a start Mom. A good start." Raven said, grabbing her mother's hand. Then, she looked at Victor. "Dad?"

"I'm working on it sweetie, okay?"

"Okay." There were a few moments of silence. "So, would it be too soon if I asked if I could go out with Chelsea on Saturday?"

Victor looked like his heart dropped into his stomach. Tanya swallowed the lump in her throat. Raven was being fair, as much as it was killing them. If it were a boy, a five day warning would have been more than enough time for them to cope. This shouldn't be any different, but it really, really was.

"We'll...think about it." Tanya managed to say and Raven nodded.

"All right." Raven said, standing up and gathering her books. "I'll be up in my room. Call me when dinner's ready."

"Okay." Tanya said as Raven left the room.

Raven shook her head as she traveled up to her room. Maybe Chelsea was right in not wanting to tell them. Raven thought it would make things easier. It seemed to do the exact opposite, as with most things in her life. She only hoped that it would all work out as time went by.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

**_Author's Note: Hey, just wanted to say that in this story, Principal Lawler doesn't spit. It's hard to create a serious scene when the man's spitting all over everyone. Plus, I couldn't think of a whole bunch of P-words, S-words, and T-words that would make him spit. Sorry...I just couldn't fit it in._**

Chapter 7

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday breezed by without a problem. Rocky and his boys weren't in school, so Raven and Chelsea didn't have much to worry about, besides their parents. It had been a rough week relationship-wise. After Monday night's fiasco, Chelsea didn't want to hang around the Baxter household past four, and Raven was on Cory watch, so she couldn't go over to Chelsea's. Basically, all they had was school and the walk home, and since both were public, there were no displays of affection at all, with the exception of linking arms. (Chelsea thought it was okay since many straight women link arms all the time...Raven thought it was ridiculous, but it gave her a chance to hold her girlfriend.)

Friday morning, Raven was cranky from lack of affection, and she didn't think she could make it through the school day without screaming. She ripped open her schoolbag, threw some books inside her locker and slammed her locker door shut. Eddie walked by, stopping and jumping a little at the loud noise.

"Hey Rae, you okay?"

"Fine." Raven snapped back unintentionally and Eddie flinched a little.

"Well, excuse me for asking." Eddie responded, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry." Raven sighed, looking down and picking at the edge of her binder. "This hasn't been a good week."

"You have a fight with Chels?"

"No. It's more our parents than anything else." Raven whispered, bringing Eddie closer to their lockers so no one within range could hear. "I thought telling them would be a good idea. Turns out I was wrong...again."

"Give them time Rae. Let them get used to it."

"Chelsea doesn't even want to come over anymore. That's the worst part. I barely get to see her outside of school." Raven could feel herself getting more emotional than she really should in public, but she couldn't help it. "I mean...she's my girlfriend Eddie. If it were a boy, my parents wouldn't care."

"Oh, I'd think they'd care Rae." Eddie nodded wildly, laughing a little. "This is new. And it wasn't what they expected, so you have to let them work it out. Remember how I acted when I found out? It wasn't easy learning that about you."

"Yeah, but we talked, and you accepted it way faster than they're accepting it."

"Well, you ain't my kid. You're just my best friend. It's different." Eddie shrugged.

"I guess." Raven looked at Eddie and smiled a little. "I'm sorry that I'm dumping all of this on you, but I'm glad you listen."

"No worries Rae. It'll work out. Trust me."

Eddie and Raven hugged just as Chelsea walked up. She seemed less energetic than usual.

"Hey Chels." Both Eddie and Raven said as they broke apart.

"Hi guys. What's going on?"

"Nothing." Eddie replied, winking at Raven. "I'll see you guys later."

Chelsea nodded and Raven mouthed a, "thanks" to Eddie as he walked away. Raven watched him go and then approached Chelsea, whose head was buried deep in her locker. "You lost in there?" Raven asked and Chelsea pulled her head out.

"No. Just looking for my pen." Chelsea said flatly. "Got it." She said, pulling an old, chewed up pen from her locker.

"So," Raven began, moving closer to Chelsea and looking around. Nobody was close enough to hear. "Do you want to go out Saturday night?"

"Yeah sure. Where?" Chelsea opened her bookbag and began to sift through books and papers.

"I dunno. Movies?"

"Whatever. You pick." Chelsea said quickly, distracted by something in her bookbag.

"You okay? You seem a little..." Raven put a hand on Chelsea's bookbag and lowered it. Chelsea looked up. "...distracted."

"I'm sorry. It's not even first period and I'm already having a bad day."

"Yeah, I know the feeling. But, today's Friday, so that's good, right?"

Chelsea nodded. Then, the bell rang. "We better get to class before we're late."

Both girls rushed to class, feeling that the day was already starting to spiral downward.

* * *

Raven, Eddie, and Chantel were sitting at a lunch table, waiting for Chelsea to show up. She had to get something from her locker and then had to get on line for lunch, so she was late. Chantel was staring at her plate of food, trying her best not to snap and inhale the whole thing. Raven could see her want. 

"You know, Chantel, you don't have to wait for Chelsea. You can eat."

"Okay." Chantel responded, digging into her plate with force. Eddie tried to grab a french fry off of her tray, and she smacked his hand away.

"Come on baby, it's just one fry. I didn't get any." Eddie whined.

"Well, that's what happens when you tell the lunch lady she looks like Rodney Dangerfield."

"What?" Raven squealed, bursting into laughter.

"I can't help it if the woman bears a striking resemblance to Rodney."

"Yeah, but you didn't have to point it out either." Chantel scolded Eddie, and then slapped his hand again as he tried for another fry.

"Hey Raven." A voice said behind her and she turned quickly. It was Ben.

"Hey." Raven said with a smile as he walked by.

"So, you're talking to Chelsea's ex?" Chantel asked between mouthfuls.

"Not really. Just a 'hey.'"

"Isn't that a big no-no?"

Raven shrugged. "Chelsea doesn't care."

"Speaking of Chelsea, where is she?" Eddie said, scanning the lunchroom.

* * *

Chelsea thanked the lunch lady (who looked like Rodney Dangerfield) as she paid her veggie burger, fries, an apple, and water. She slid the tray off the counter, being careful not to let the apple roll off when someone stepped in front of her. She stopped and looked up, meeting the eyes of Michael Whitman. 

"Hey." His deep, voice sent a chill down her spine.

"Excuse me." Chelsea mumbled, immediately looking at her tray and trying to pass him. But he stepped in her way again. Then, she jumped as she felt a rough hand on her shoulder. Chelsea turned her head sideways a little, but she already knew who it was. Rocky.

"Hey Red. What'cha got there?" His cracky voice echoed in her ear.

"Lunch."

"Hmm." Rocky responded, nodding his head. "Why don't you come sit with us?" He motioned with his thumb over to the corner of the cafeteria where Tyrone and Deckland were sitting, staring at her.

"S-some friends are waiting for me."

"Come on. They can do without you for a day. Just sit and talk to my friend Mike here. He wants to get to know you."

Chelsea looked over at the table that Eddie and Raven were sitting at. They didn't see her, and she was starting to get really scared. The whole lunchroom was buzzing with people, but no one paid attention to what Rocky and Mike were doing. Maybe they didn't want to pay attention.

Chelsea backed away a little, and Rocky tightened his grip on her shoulder. "Where you going?"

"I told you."

"Yeah, and I told you to sit with my friend Mike. Come on, he ain't gonna bite...I promise."

* * *

Raven looked at her watch. Chelsea was really late. Where was she? Raven looked around the lunchroom herself, and her heart constricted when she saw them. Chelsea, scared and sandwiched between Rocky and Mike. Raven stood up and quickly jogged over to Chelsea. 

"Chelsea hey girl! What are you doing over here?" Raven shouted and could see Chelsea sigh in relief. Raven grabbed Chelsea's arm. "Come on."

"Hey. What are you doing?" Rocky asked as a wicked smile spread across his face.

"Oh, see here, the thing is, me and my friends were waiting on Chels here. Got a project, very important. Due tomorrow."

"Oh, okay. Well, me and my friends..." Rocky said, pointing toward Tyrone and Deckland and then at Mike, "Don't care about the project. We want Red to sit with us."

"Her name isn't 'Red.' Her name is Chelsea, and she can't sit with you today, we have to do a project." Raven stated firmly, looking directly into Rocky's eyes. Rocky smiled, unphased, but he let go of Chelsea's shoulder. Raven pulled Chelsea closer to her in pure protective instinct. Chelsea still didn't take her eyes off of her tray, but she could feel Michael's creepy gaze.

"Ooh, fiesty." Rocky taunted, and suddenly grabbed Raven's wrist. "I want this one."

"Hey, let go--" Raven yelled, and Rocky pulled her close to him. She almost gagged at his odor. The smell was burning her nostrils and making its way down her throat. She tried to push away, but his grip was so strong...

"Come on, stop!" Chelsea yelled, putting her tray down. She moved toward Rocky and a squirming Raven, but a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist. It was Michael. He pulled, lifting her up off the floor and twirling her around.

"Mr. Collera, Mr. Whitman, let those girls go." A loud voice boomed, and all four teens froze. Chelsea snapped her head to the side. Principal Lawler was standing in the middle of the lunchroom, his hands balled in fists on his hips.

Michael released Chelsea and she hit the floor on her feet, stumbling a little. Raven pulled her wrist from Rocky's grip, rubbing it and glaring at him. Chelsea moved to her and both girls put a few feet between themselves and their tormentors.

"Come on man. We were just having a little fun."

"My name isn't 'man,' Mr. Collera. And it didn't look like Ms. Baxter or Ms. Daniels were having fun. I see you harass them again, and it's two weeks detention. That goes for you too Mr. Whitman."

Rocky looked at Michael and then back at Mr. Lawler. "Yeah well, my name is Rocky and me and my friend don't give a sh--"

"That's it. Two weeks detention for both of you. To my office immediately."

Neither Rocky or Michael moved as Mr. Lawler stared at them. Raven could see Rocky's face turning red with anger.

"This is all your fault..." Rocky spat at Raven and Chelsea, moving toward them at an alarming rate. Raven stepped in front of Chelsea protectively, but her heart was beating a mile a minute. His sudden fury was frightening.

"MR. COLLERA!" Lawler shouted, and Rocky stopped in his tracks. "Take one more step, and you're suspended for two weeks."

Rocky eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened as he eyed Raven. It seemed as if he were contemplating whether two weeks suspension was worth the trouble. Then, suddenly, he straightened up, and another evil smile spread across his face. Chelsea looked at Michael, who didn't move or say anything, but his eyes...his burning eyes were on her again. She felt as if she were under a microscope. It was becoming harder to breathe.

"My office, now!"

"Fine." Rocky said, backing off. "But this ain't over."

"Yeah, that's great. Bye now." Raven answered back. Rocky moved his head to the side and Chelsea flinched at the audible crack his neck made. Principal Lawler ushered both Michael and Rocky out of the lunchroom, already starting to lecture them. Raven grabbed Chelsea's tray and said, "Come on Chels. Let's sit down."

When they got to the table and Chelsea sat down, Raven put a hand on her back. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks." Chelsea said nervously, shaken by the whole thing.

Eddie stared at Raven, his mouth agape. Chantel was still focused on her rapidly disappearing food.

"What are you staring at?" Raven said, still in a confrontational mood. She felt like starting a fight with someone, anyone.

"You just confronted Rocky Collera..."

"Yeah, and thanks for all your help." Raven snapped.

"Y-you know I would have girl." Eddie laughed nervously. "B-but Principal Lawler had it under control."

Chelsea rolled her eyes.

"Chantel, how do you put up with this?" Raven asked and Eddie made his classic hurt face.

Chantel shrugged. "It's a mystery."

"Naw, you put up with me cause I'm your snookie-puss."

Chantel nodded and kissed Eddie. "You are."

"AW Cookie-lips!" Eddie kissed Chantel again and both Raven and Chelsea faked a gag.

"Great...lost my appetite." Chelsea said, throwing down her veggie-burger.

Eddie scoffed and then stole a fry.

Raven would have laughed if she wasn't watching the other two guys. They were sending her death glares as they stood up. She had an unbelievable urge to punch them, but who didn't at one time or another? It would definitely be suicide to do so, but at the moment, she didn't care. This was the second time they'd scared Chelsea, and Raven was getting really sick of their tyranny.

Tyrone lifted his empty can of soda towards Raven, and let it fall from his hands. It hit the cafeteria floor with a clang and rolled around a little. Deckland looked at the can, and then at Raven. Then, he stomped on the can with all of his might, and the crunch echoed throughout the room.

Chelsea saw it and felt her breath hitch in her throat. She looked at Raven, who stared at them with her own fury.

They left the lunchroom, and Raven watched them go.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 8

_She opened her eyes, confused. It was dark and foggy, and she was in the middle of Bayside high in her pajamas. Raven looked around, nobody else was there. Why was she here? The already dim lights that lined the hallway ceiling were further dimmed by the thick, smokey fog. The sound of a locker shutting made Raven jump and turn._

_"H-hello?" She said weakly, and nobody answered. There was the quick sound of footsteps off to her left and she turned, but the hallway was empty. Raven looked at the classroom door off to the side. Room 187. 187. Why did that seem so important? She looked down the long hallway again, squinting to see better._

_"Hello!" She yelled loudly, and suddenly Chelsea came into view. Her back was turned to Raven, and she was walking down the hallway slowly. "Chelsea?" Raven called, and her voice seemed to echo._

_Raven walked toward Chelsea slowly, barely able to see her through the fog. "Chels, wait up!"_

_There was a slight snicker behind her and Raven felt her skin grow cold. What was going on?_

_"Chelsea, Chels wait!" Raven screamed, jogging toward the girl. Chelsea turned, her back facing the lockers._

_"Raven, what are you--" Suddenly (and impossibly), a pair of arms flew out from the lockers and wrapped around Chelsea's waist. Raven stumbled back, surprised. But then she dashed forward when Chelsea screamed. "Raven!"_

_"Chelsea!" Raven screamed in fright as her girlfriend was pulled backward...into the lockers...and out of Raven's sight. Raven ran for them, thinking that she could jump into whatever Chelsea was pulled into, but she slammed into the hard metal lockers and fell to the cold floor with a thump. Getting up and scrambling foreward, Raven tried again. Nothing. The lockers were solid._

_She banged on them. "Chelsea! Chelsea where are you!" There was silence. "Chelsea answer me!" Raven screamed, tears coming to her eyes. A hand dropped on her shoulder and she turned...and came face to face with Rocky Collera._

_"Boo." He said flatly before pushing Raven. And the once solid lockers became a hole of nothing, and Raven was falling...falling...falling..._

_"NO!" She screamed as she fell further and further into darkness..._

Raven snapped her eyes open, gasping for air. It took her a minute to realize she was in her bed, still in her bedroom. She looked around, still feeling the terror of the dream. Sun shone from the window onto her body, but she was freezing. And wet. Raven was drenched in sweat.

"Oh my God," She said breathlessly, wiping the sweat from her damp face. She looked at the clock. 8:33. The dream was so real, so frightening. Raven closed her eyes for a second and saw Rocky's face. She opened them quickly, shivering.

"It was just a dream. Just a dream..." Raven said to herself over and over, but her heart was beating so fast she thought it was going to break through her chest. She pulled the blankets off of herself and sat up, trying to shake her fear. But it wasn't leaving.

* * *

Chelsea stood in front of her dresser mirror, brushing her hair quickly and rubbing her lips together to even out the lipstick. She flipped her hair, letting it fall into its natural perfect position, and then she began to apply eyeliner. She was done with one eye and pulling down the bottom eyelid of the other when Charlene knocked on the door.

"Chelsea?"

"Yeah." She said, running the black eye pencil across the lid.

"Dinner's ready."

"Oh, Mom, sorry." Chelsea said, putting the make-up down and turning. "I'm going out with Raven tonight."

Chelsea saw her mother pale and clasp her hands together at her stomach. "On a...date?"

"Yeah." Chelsea said slowly, feeling very uncomfortable. "Nothing fancy." She added quickly. "Just the movies."

"Oh." Charlene nodded a little, but didn't say anything else. An unsettling picture of Raven and Chelsea making out in the back of the movie theater flashed through her mind. Then she mentally scolded herself. 'The girls wouldn't do that. They're still keeping their relationship private from everyone else.'

Charlene sighed. She felt bad that they had to keep it a secret, and she felt even worse that she was glad they were doing so. She remembered back a few months, when she was treating a mother with a son who was gay. The mother was having a hard time accepting his feelings towards other men. Charlene now felt this mother's pain.

It wasn't supposed to be pain though. Charlene thought she was liberal-minded. She never felt threatened by homosexuals before. She didn't mind them. They are people too. But that was when they were outside...not here in her house...in the shape of her daughter.

Would she be able to support Chelsea? Accept her relationship with Raven? Charlene didn't know yet. All she knew was that she wanted her daughter to be happy. That was all that mattered for the moment.

The doorbell rang and Chelsea grabbed her jacket. "That's Raven." Chelsea walked slowly past her mother, unsure of what she would do. When she got out of her bedroom, she jogged to the door and opened it.

Raven was standing on the steps, looking at her cell phone. Her hair was back in a simple pony tail; she had on a dark blue hoodie over a white tank top, with form-fitting blue jeans and white sneakers. It was casual, but Chelsea thought she looked beautiful. "Hey."

Raven looked up and gasped. Chelsea's long red hair was flowing down over her tight black shirt that hugged every curve of her body. Low rise, dark blue, denim jeans and black boots finished the outfit, and took Raven's breath away. She was gorgeous. "H-hi." She stammered, amazed.

Chelsea blushed at Raven's reaction. But before she could do anything more, Charlene was at the door. "Hello Raven."

"Hi, Mrs. Daniels." Raven said sweetly, smiling. Her eyes kept wandering back to Chelsea.

"You girls going out for the evening?"

"Yeah."

Chelsea stepped down to Raven and turned to face her mother. Raven tried her best to keep eye contact with Charlene, but it was getting really hard. They stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do or say next. Then, Charlene sighed.

"Well, you know the curfew Chelsea. I expect you to be on time."

Chelsea nodded. "I will Mom."

Charlene eyed Raven and Raven suddenly knew how it felt to be Chelsea on that Monday night. She could feel herself getting tense and uncomfortable, something she had never felt around Mrs. Daniels before. Man, this was tough.

"You girls have a…n-nice time now." Charlene managed to force out, plastering a smile on her face. Chelsea's eyes widened.

"Mom!" She muttered, shaking her head in a 'what the hell?' fashion.

"Okay." Was all that Raven could say.

Charlene nodded nervously and then closed the door. She leaned against it, closing her eyes and breathing heavily. Her daughter was going out on a date with another girl…

* * *

Both Raven and Chelsea looked at the now closed door in shock.

"Okay, that was weird." Raven said, turning to Chelsea, and gasping for the second time that night.

"How do I look?" Chelsea asked, already knowing the response, but wanting to hear it out loud.

"Absolutely…gorgeous." Raven stated breathlessly.

Chelsea smiled. "You're looking pretty hot yourself this evening."

They walked down the steps, linking arms immediately. Raven closed her eyes as that familiar smell of strawberries filled her nostrils, dancing around her head and leaving her in a daze. "Mmm."

"What?"

Raven tightened her arm around Chelsea. "Nothing."

Chelsea smiled again. She knew that Raven could smell her shampoo; she washed her hair three times to get that effect. Seeing Raven in that euphoric trance made Chelsea's heart swell. She never knew it felt this good to be wanted. To be loved. And to love back as well.

Chelsea was going to say it tonight. In the park, under the stars. She was going to tell Raven she loved her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 9

A large, grumbling crowd exited the movie theater in droves, leaving a mess of popcorn, soda and candy in their wake. Raven and Chelsea were among the last few to leave.

"Oh my God, that was the most boring movie ever!" Chelsea said, blinking a few times to focus her blurry vision. "Watching it was like…torture or something!"

"You mean you actually watched the movie? I fell asleep fifteen minutes after the opening credits."

"I know." Chelsea smiled, laughing a little. "Your snoring kept everyone within a ten foot radius wide awake."

"I do not snore!" Raven yelled, raising her eyebrows and laughing, smacking Chelsea playfully on the arm.

"Yeah sure. At one point, I had to stop the guy next to us from shoving a handful of popcorn in your mouth to shut you up."

"Chelsea!" Raven squealed, smacking her on the arm again.

"Okay, okay. You only snore a little." Chelsea laughed and braced for another playful hit, but then she whispered, "But it's cute."

"Yeah?" Raven asked, her face softening.

"Absolutely…you sound just like my Sammy Whammy when he's sleeping. It's the cutest thing--"

"Chelsea!"

Chelsea burst into hysterics and ran away. Raven gave chase, as they dodged through the crowds of people and ran for the park. It was virtually empty at night, just the way the girls liked it. That was the only public place they could really show affection because nobody else was there. Chelsea reached it before Raven did, disappearing into the darkness.

Raven stopped in the middle of the dark park, breathing heavily because of the run. She looked around, not seeing Chelsea at all. "Chelsea?" Raven panted, searching the pitch black park for anything. No Chelsea.

"Chel-sea! Come out, come out, wherever you are!" She sang, looking around.

Chelsea didn't answer. Raven looked around again. Nobody was there. Her dream flashed in her mind…she could see Chelsea being dragged into the lockers…disappearing. She could see herself screaming for Chelsea. "Hey, this isn't funny. Come on--"

A gust of wind rustled the bushes beside Raven and she jumped.

Raven looked around, her already rapidly beating heart beginning to pick up to an impossible pace. "Chels? Chelsea?" Tears sprung to Raven's eyes, which she knew was ridiculous, but her dream was coming back to haunt her. Any minute, she expected Rocky to jump in front of her.

"Chelsea, where are you!"

Silence.

"Chelsea, answer me right now!"

Silence.

"CHELSEA!" Raven screamed, spinning around wildly. Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed her by the shoulders and she stopped.

"Boo!" Chelsea shouted and Raven screamed. Then, to Chelsea's surprise, Raven pulled her into a tight hug, a sob escaping her lips. "Rae? Rae, you okay?"

"Don't ever do that to me again! Ever!" Raven shouted, tears running down her face. Chelsea pulled back, but Raven kept her arms around her waist.

"Hey, why are you crying?"

"You scared me to death girl! I screamed and screamed and you didn't answer."

"No, I was just playing around--"

"I thought something happened to you! I was so scared." Raven pulled Chelsea into a hug again and Chelsea felt her own eyes grow wet.

"Hey," Chelsea whispered hoarsely, "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to scare you so badly." Her heart broke with each of Raven's tears. She was just playing around. She didn't mean for this to happen. "Stop Rae. I'm really, really sorry. Please? Please don't cry anymore."

The broke apart again and Raven sniffled, wiping tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry. It was just this dream I had last night."

They sat down on the bench in the middle of the park, Chelsea grabbing one of Raven's hands and rubbing it in comfort. "You wanna talk about it?"

"It…it was just you, disappearing in my dream." Raven didn't want to share all of the frightening details; Chelsea was already scared of Rocky and his crew. Plus, Raven didn't want to dredge it all up. "I screamed and screamed for you, but you didn't answer. And…when you did that here, it just brought it all back."

"I'm sorry Rae. I didn't know."

"I know, I'm sorry for freaking out like that. It's just…I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you. I care about you so much. I love you so much." Raven pulled Chelsea into another hug, more tears running down her face.

"Oh Rae," Chelsea whispered, her voice breaking as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I love you too."

There was silence. Raven pulled back slowly, looking at Chelsea. "What did you say?"

"I love you."

"What?"

"I love you." Chelsea said again, smiling and crying at the same time.

A wide smile spread across Raven's face as new tears of joy pooled in her eyes. She kissed Chelsea passionately, putting a hand on Chelsea's cheek. They both laughed shakily from all of the emotion as they kissed again, and then touched foreheads, breathing heavily.

"I had it all planned differently in my mind. You know, without scaring you half to death and making you cry." Chelsea sniffled and then laughed a little.

"It's perfect."

"I wanted it to be more romantic."

"It couldn't be more romantic if we were sitting in the middle of a French love story." Raven kissed Chelsea again. "And I couldn't be more happy."

"Me neither." Chelsea added, and they kissed one more time before embracing one another again, resting their heads on each others' shoulders.

"Say it again." Raven whispered softly.

"I love you." Chelsea whispered in her ear. "I love you…" Chelsea kissed Raven just beneath her ear. "I love you…" Making her way down her neck. "I love you." Chelsea pulled down the collar of Raven's white shirt and kissed Raven's collar bone.

"I love you too." Raven said, cupping a hand under Chelsea's chin and pulling her up to kiss her lips again. Chelsea intertwined her fingers with Raven's, squeezing it tightly. Raven returned the squeeze and moved a strand of hair out of Chelsea's eyes. Chelsea wiped away a stray tear from Raven's cheek with her free hand and Raven kissed her palm.

Raven sighed in contentment, planting one more kiss on Chelsea's lips. She never, ever wanted to stop. She wanted to wrap Chelsea in her arms and keep her there. If she could freeze time, she would keep this moment forever. Her heart swelled with so much love, she could barely breathe.

The moment was ended though, by the soft ringing of Chelsea's cell phone. Chelsea reached into her pocket without taking her eyes off of Raven. She only broke her gaze to look at the phone, sighing as she switched the 'off' button. "That's the alarm. We should start home if I want to make curfew."

"Okay." Raven said, and they both stood up. "Can we hold hands until the end of the park?"

"Absolutely." Chelsea answered, smiling.

They walked out of the park, happy and in love.

* * *

Deckland stepped out from behind the tree just beyond the park bench, taking a drag of his cigarette. Tyrone stepped out of the other side, cracking his knuckles. 

"Well, well, well…" Deckland said, flicking his cigarette. "That's a new twist on things…isn' it?"

Tyrone nodded. His eyes, hidden behind his dark sunglasses, followed the girls out of the park.

"Wait till Rocky gets a 'old a this." Deckland laughed. "Raven and Red…little lovebirds."

Tyrone smirked, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

**_Author's Note: Hey all, I just wanted to warn you that near the end of the chapter, there are a lot of misspelled words. See, the thing is, my character Deckland is Irish, and I was trying to capture the Irish accent with the words. So, if you don't recognize an Irish accent, it's gonna look like I'm an idiot. But I'm not. _**

**_And I think after this chapter, I'm changing the rating to "M." It's not because I'm gonna write graphic slash sex(sorry, I don't think I'm ready for that just yet.) It's just because there's gonna be a lot of derogatory name calling (and more)and I don't think the kiddies who come to this site should openly be exposed to it, unless they know how to get to the stories rated, "M."_**

**_So, that's all. I hope you all still love the story._**

**_w.t.s._**

* * *

Chapter 10

"Well, here we are." Raven sighed as they reached Chelsea's front door. Chelsea looked at her phone.

"Seven minutes early." She said, and sat down on the cold stone steps. Raven followed, wrinkling her forehead as she stared at Chelsea with wide, curious eyes.

"Chels?"

"I'm not gonna waste seven minutes inside when I could be out here with you."

Raven smiled. "But we can't do anything. We're in public. We're not in the park anymore."

Chelsea shrugged. "That's okay. Just sitting next to you is enough." Chelsea looked around the neighborhood. There were people walking on the sidewalks and cars passing down the street. A few people were leaning out the windows, either talking to someone on the ground or looking up at the night sky. Chelsea looked at Raven and moved in closer to her. "Give me your hand."

"Hmm?" Raven said, looking at Chelsea.

Chelsea smiled. "Trust me."

Raven smiled back as she moved her hand to Chelsea's. Chelsea grabbed it, slipping her fingers between Raven's. Then, she led it to the small space between them, covering it with her back. "There. No one can see us."

"Last time we did this, you freaked."

"Yeah, but you said that holding my hand made you feel safe."

Raven nodded.

"Well…it makes me feel safe too. Even if we're hiding it, knowing that you're right here, holding my hand, makes me feel…"

"Safe?" Raven interrupted, laughing.

"Loved." Chelsea finished, and Raven could feel more joyful tears coming on.

"Me too." She whispered, her voice hoarse with emotion. She squeezed Chelsea's hand. "One day, we'll be able to do this in front of everyone."

"Yeah." Chelsea nodded, looking at her feet. "One day."

One day, Chelsea would be able to show her affection in public. One day, she would openly hold Raven's hand and kiss her in the middle of a crowded street, where everyone would see. One day, Chelsea would be comfortable with this and not care about what others thought of her. _One day._

She heard the click of the front door lock and the squeak of the doorknob, and Chelsea pulled her hand from Raven's. Both girls stood and turned, just as the door opened and the light from the inner hallway cast a spotlight on them. It was only shadowed by the figure standing just beside the door. Chester Daniels.

"Hi." Raven said.

"Raven." Chester said politely. "I see you've brought Chelsea home on time."

Raven and Chelsea nodded. "Actually, I'm early." Chelsea said, checking her cell phone again. They still had a minute left, but it looked like their time was up.

Chester nodded, his graying mustache wiggling a little as he moved his upper lip. "Yes." They stood there awkwardly, and Raven could feel Chester's eyes on her. Was this how all of her old dates felt? Was this how any boyfriend felt? Could they feel the eyes of a protective father burning holes into their skulls? That's how Raven felt.

"Di…Did you girls have a-a good time?"

"Mmm-hmmm." Raven said, trying not to break eye contact. She didn't want Chester to think she was too afraid of him. Raven never really talked to Chelsea's father. He was around every once in a while, cracking odd-ball jokes and sometimes asking Raven about school. They'd only spent about a handful of minutes in a room together at a time, and he was nice enough. But now, he seemed intimidating, even if he didn't mean to.

"That's nice."

Raven nodded again. There was more awkward silence, but then Chelsea broke it. "I'll be in in a minute Dad."

"All right. Good night Raven."

"Good night…sir." Raven responded and then closed her eyes as Chester raised an eyebrow at her before closing the door.

Chelsea sighed and then turned to Raven. "Good night sir?"

Raven shrugged. "It seemed appropriate at the time."

"Ah-huh." Chelsea nodded, smiling and Raven knew that she wasn't going to live that response down. She was going to be hearing a lot of "goodnight sir's" for a while.

"I better get inside before my mother comes out here." Chelsea said, putting her hands in her jacket pockets. Raven nodded.

"I wish I could kiss you right now."

"I know." Chelsea said.

They stood there for a minute, and then Chelsea leaned in and kissed Raven on the cheek, much like schoolgirls did when they saw their friends between classes. But before she pulled away, she whispered in Raven's ear, "I love you."

Raven smiled. "I love you too." She mouthed silently.

Chelsea pushed the door open and hopped up the small step to the inside. "Good night." She said, holding the door with her hand.

"Good night." Raven said, turning and beginning to walk down the steps.

"Sir." Chelsea said, laughing. And he she closed the door.

Raven lifted her head toward the sky and shook it, sighing and laughing. She walked home, feeling lighter than the clouds in the sky. Tonight was perfect; things couldn't get any better.

* * *

Sitting on an old green armchair in the shed behind his house, Rocky took the last few chugs of his beer before crushing the can and throwing it behind him, burping loudly. Michael was sitting on a duct-taped bean bag, flicking playing cards across the room. 

"I'm bored." Michael stated lowly, throwing the last card at the red-painted wall.

The hang-out the boys had made up wasn't anything special. Outside, the faded and dirty red paint was chipping and peeling away. The one window in the back was smudged , fogged, and covered with cobwebs. Inside, the paint was a little better, but not that much. Posters of heavy metal bands and half-naked women took up some space. An old yellow couch sat off to one wall, the material thin at the corners and the cushions ripped, exposing loose white cotton. There was the green arm chair that Rocky was sitting on directly across from the couch. And then there was the black, duct-taped bean bag chair that belonged to Mike, which Mike was sitting on, sitting a few feet away from the green chair. There was a Styrofoam cooler next to the green chair, which held the gang's beer and whatever else needed cooling, and in the center of the shed was some loose floorboards, which hid their cigarettes, other narcotics, and money stash in a big, dull grey metal box with a lock on it. Next to the couch was a folded poker table and four metal chairs, which the guys pulled out every couple of days when they were bored. There was a stereo just beneath the window, but that was broken when Rocky threw it in a fit of rage. Mike replaced it with his boom box for the time being, and the loud, fast paced sounds of White Zombie's "More Human Than Human" filled the room. The shed floor was riddled with garbage, and Rocky kicked a can toward Mike, hitting his boot.

"So, whaddya wanna do? We ain't got no cash, Deck and Tyrone ain't here and I don't feel like playing cards with you."

Mike shrugged. "Got any more beer?"

Rocky shook his head. "Nah, it's gone."

"Freaking drunk." Michael muttered, and Rocky took another empty beer can and threw it at Michael's head. It hit Michael's temple with a 'clink' and Michael hissed. "Damn."

"Shut up."

Suddenly, the door burst open and a very excited Deckland walked in, with a tranquil (or indifferent) Tyrone behind him.

"Rocky…ya ain't gonna believe whut me an T. just saw." Deckland shouted, his Irish accent becoming thicker with his excitement.

"What?" Rocky asked, not really interested.

"Ya girl Red and her mate Raven…kissen!"

Michael snapped his head toward Deckland, who nodded wildly. Rocky leaned forward in his chair, looking at Deckland and then at Tyrone, who nodded as well. Deckland walked in circles around the shed.

"Oh it wus outrageous! Ya girl wus all…'I luv you!'" Deckland said in a high pitched voice, trying his best to impersonate a girl. "And she wus kissen Raven all over her face an neck. And Raven wus all 'I luv ya too! It was fecking crazy!"

"No way." Michael boomed, standing up. "You're full of it."

"I ain't." Deckland said, turning to Tyrone. Tyrone shook his head slowly.

"No kidding." Rocky said, laughing a little. "Kissing and everything?"

Deckland nodded. "Rocky, if ya seen it, ya woulda went mad!"

"You're a liar." Michael yelled, lunging at Deckland and pushing him.

"Am fecking not ya dumb shet!" Deckland yelled back, balling his hand into a fist and flexing his arm. Pulsing blue veins bulged from his thick, muscled forearm. He lunged at Michael, but Rocky jumped between them and held Deckland back.

"All right ladies! Calm down now!" Rocky shouted, pushing Deckland back. Deckland blew out hot air, lowering his arm and tightening his jaw. "So…" Rocky hissed, his raspy voice cracking with delight. "…we got a couple a dykes on our hands."

Deckland and Tyrone nodded.

"No wonder she wasn't interested Mikey…seems like you ain't her type." Rocky joked, laughing. Michael just shook his head and stomped toward the door, throwing it open, leaving, and then slamming it shut.

All three watched him leave. "Ya want me tah get 'em Rock?" Deckland asked, and Rocky shook his head.

"Nah, let him cool off for a bit. What we need to do…is figure out how we're gonna get back at those dykes for playing wit us and making me and Mike get two weeks detention."

Tyrone nodded, Deckland laughed, and Rocky cracked his knuckles, a wide evil smile spreading across his face.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

**_Author's Note: Hey, I made up a last name for Ben. If anyone knows the last name they gave him on the show, please tell me and I'll fix it._**

**_Enjoy._**

**_w.t.s._**

* * *

Chapter 11

Monday morning, Raven skipped down the front steps of her house, humming a "Boys In Motion" song. She had been feeling lighter than air since Saturday night, and she hadn't come down from her love high at all. She didn't want to either. This was the best she'd ever felt, and Raven intended to keep it that way.

Victor and Tanya were doing better as well. Tanya even went as far as to ask Raven how the date went. Raven didn't go into too much detail; she didn't want to freak her mother out. What she did say was that she had a great time and was very thankful that her parents allowed her to go. Raven knew that would make her parents feel good about themselves for a while. And maybe, things would start becoming normal again

Raven nearly skipped to Chelsea's house and made it just in time to catch Chelsea as she closed her front door. "Hey Chels!"

Chelsea turned and smiled. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

"What, I can't meet my 'friend' and walk with her to school?" Raven asked, winking.

"Yeah sure, it's just, you never walk with me. I usually just catch you by your locker."

"Well, I just felt like walking to school with you, that's all. But if you want, I'll stop here and wait five minutes. You get to school and we'll meet up by the lockers--"

"Oh come on now." Chelsea cut Raven off and Raven laughed.

"You know, I never really get the chance to enjoy the walk to school. I'm always running down the block so fast, I miss everything. It's so beautiful this early in the morning. So quiet, so peaceful."

"Okay." Chelsea said, looking around. "Where am I?"

"What?"

"Cause I feel like I just stepped into, 'The Twilight Zone.'"

Raven rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'm serious."

"I know." Chelsea said as they turned the corner. School was just a block away now. "And you seem like you're in a happy mood."

"I am." Raven sighed, linking arms with Chelsea. "Today…today is going to be a great day. I can feel it."

They walked in silence for a minute, and then Chelsea started to hum the "Twilight Zone" theme song. Raven nudged her and both girls laughed. They walked up the school steps to a crowd of people standing in the middle of the hallway. The buzz of the crowd was loud, but unclear. Raven and Chelsea couldn't make out what they were saying.

The girls walked further down the hallway, and Raven realized the crowd was formed by their lockers. "What's going on here?" Raven mumbled to Chelsea, who shrugged.

Eddie suddenly appeared. "Rae, Chels!" He whispered frantically, tugging on Raven's arm. "Come on, quick, before they see you."

Raven and Chelsea exchanged a glance and Raven turned back to Eddie. "What's going on?"

"Look, there they are." Someone said and Chelsea looked at the crowd. The whole crowd split in half, exposing the girl's lockers. Chelsea gasped, making Raven turn and look.

Raven felt her stomach constrict and bile rose in her throat.

There it was, on both their lockers. Big, ugly, bold, black spray painted letters written diagonally down the grey-blue steel doors.

**DYKE.**

The crowd of students by the lockers whispered, and Chelsea could suddenly make out everything they were saying. It was like she suddenly possessed super-human hearing abilities.

"_Is that them?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"You think it's true?"_

_"Look, their arms are together."_

Chelsea ripped her arm from Raven's and moved a little to the side, lowering her gaze to the floor. Tears burned her eyes. How did this happen?

_"They're lesbians."_

Raven looked at Eddie, and he shook his head. "I didn't--" Raven put a hand up, silencing him. Chelsea backed away slowly, still not looking up. She could feel all of their eyes on her. Before she knew it, she was sprinting out of school.

"Chels wait--" Raven said, glaring at Eddie one more time and then starting after her. An arm appeared in front of her and she banged into it, stopping. It was Principal Lawler.

The bell rang, signaling the beginning of first period.

"All right everyone!" He shouted, still blocking Raven's path. "The show is over. Move along to your classes…or risk detention."

The whispering crowd slowly broke as students made their way to their classes. Principal Lawler looked down at Raven. "Miss Baxter, come with me please."

"But Chelsea--" Raven began, but Lawler put his hand up.

"We will deal with Chelsea later. Come along now. You too Mr. Thomas."

Raven looked past Principal Lawler to the school's entrance, but Chelsea was gone. She really wanted to run after her, but the chances of finding Chelsea would be slim by now. Raven silently gave up and stood back, but still looked to the door just in case Chelsea came into view.

Eddie, who had stayed behind, nodded and moved closer to Raven. Principal Lawler led the way to his office, with Raven and Eddie trailing behind him. Raven swallowed her tears, not wanting to break down just yet. Who could have wrote that? Who found out about them?

Eddie leaned in and whispered in her ear. "I didn't tell anyone Rae, I swear I didn't."

Raven nodded. "Not even Chantel?"

Eddie shook his head wildly. "No. I swear. I don't know who wrote it. When I got here this morning, it was there. I tried to wipe it off, but it was already dry. And then everyone else saw it…"

Raven looked at Eddie, and could see how upset he was becoming as well. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it, and he gave her a small smile. "Okay."

They reached he office, Lawler let them in, and motioned for them to take a seat. Raven and Eddie sat in the usually intimidating hard brown leather chairs in front of Lawler's desk. Principal Lawler took his own seat, adjusting his jacket and tie.

"Don't worry Miss Baxter, I have already made arrangements for your lockers to be cleaned. They should be good as new by fourth period."

"Thanks." Raven mumbled, folding her hands in her lap. Principal Lawler sat up straighter, leaning forward a little bit.

"Now, in order to deal with this in the best way possible, I must ask…is it indeed true that you and Miss Daniels are--"

"Yes Principal Lawler." Raven responded, nodding slowly.

"Ah." Lawler said, sitting back in his chair. He lost himself in thought, bringing a hand up, putting his thumb under his chin and resting his index finger on his lips. There were several moments of uncomfortable silence. Eddie and Raven exchanged awkward glances as they waited for Lawler to speak.

Finally, he did. "I think it would be best if I called your parents Raven. I assume they know."

"Yes."

Principal Lawler nodded, pressing a button on his intercom. "Debra, please contact the parents of Raven Baxter and Chelsea Daniels. Tell them that their presence is required immediately."

"Yes sir." A nasal voice responded through the speakers.

Eddie sat up in his chair. "Uh, Principal Lawler, sir, is there any particular reason why I am here?"

"You are the girls' best friend, are you not, Edward?"

"Yes sir."

"And you were the first person to see the…the uh, defacement."

Eddie nodded. "Yes sir."

"And, judging by your behavior, I've concluded that you know about Miss Baxter and Miss Daniels."

"Yeah."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Well, it seems like everyone else knows now, Principal Lawler." Raven cried, becoming frustrated.

"I mean, before the defacement."

"Besides my parents, the Daniels, Eddie and…Ben!" Raven shouted, standing up. For a moment, Raven could see Ben spraying that nasty word on the lockers, but then she remembered how kind and understanding he had been. It couldn't have been Ben.

"Ben who?" Lawler inquired.

"Ben Hartman, Chelsea's ex-boyfriend, sir." Eddie answered as Raven took her seat again.

Lawler nodded, and then went to his microphone. Pressing on the "Talk" button, he said, "Would Ben Hartman please report to the Principal's office. Ben Hartman, please report to the Principal's office, immediately."

"Principal Lawler, Ben couldn't have done this if that's what you're thinking." Raven said, shaking her head. "He's been completely nice and understanding about the whole thing."

"I understand Miss Baxter. I just want to ask him a few questions. That is all."

Moments later, Ben hesitantly knocked and opened the door. "You…wanted to see me sir?"

"Yes Mr. Hartman. Please come in."

Ben looked at Raven and Eddie, who only looked at him with sympathy.

"I assume you've seen the horrible defacement of school property, Mr. Hartman."

"Yes sir." Ben nodded nervously.

"Do you know the meaning of the word written on the locker?"

"Yes sir. I think everyone knows what it means."

"Miss Baxter has informed me that you know about her and Chelsea Daniels."

"Uh-huh."

"You and only you, besides Mr. Thomas here, knew of their…relationship, before the, um, defacement."

"Sir, if you're implying that I did this--"

"Now, now, Benjamin. I'm not accusing you. Miss Baxter has already vouched for you, saying that you wouldn't do this. And I believe her. I would just like to know if you have told anybody else."

"No sir. I haven't said a word to anyone. I promised Raven and Chelsea that I'd keep it a secret."

"Do you know of anyone who could have possibly found out?"

"No sir."

Lawler sat back again, thinking. Suddenly it hit him. A few days ago, Rocky Collera and Michael Whitman were bothering Raven and Chelsea. "Miss Baxter, Rocky Collera and Michael Whitman were harassing you a few days ago."

"Yeah." Eddie said. "Rocky did it!"

"Hold on," Raven said, "Rocky doesn't know."

"What makes you so sure?" Lawler asked.

"I don't know how he could know." Raven mumbled. They had been so careful not to show their relationship outside of their homes and the vacant park. Could it be that Rocky saw them in the park? Raven never saw him or his ugly gang there before. Nobody went to that park. But maybe---

"I don't know either Miss Baxter." Lawler said, rocking his chair back and forth. "But I will find out."

* * *

Chelsea didn't stop running until she hit her house. If her parents were home, they would have both had heart attacks at the sight of their daughter. Her make-up was smudged and running down her face, which was red from all that running. Her hair was messy and flying everywhere, and she was crying terribly. 

She threw open her door and flew in, running up to her bedroom and collapsing on the floor. Tears streamed down her face as she panted. How, how, how could this happen? Who did it? Who knew?

A million horrible thoughts raced through her head when suddenly, the phone rang. She lifted her head off the carpet, listening to the loud ringing. Finally the machine picked it up.

_"You've reached the home of Chester and Charlene Daniels. Please, leave a message after the tone."_

**Beep.**

"Mr. and Mrs. Daniels, this is Debra Coolidge from Bayside High. Principal Lawler requests your presence immediately--"

Chelsea let out a loud sob, her head falling back down onto the carpet. How did things get so screwed up?

She rolled on to her back and looked up at the ceiling. The stars were blurred by her tears, but she could see them. One…two…three…

Chelsea closed her eyes, letting her hot tears flow down the sides of her face.

* * *

Rocky, Tyrone and Deckland all walked into the shed laughing. Mike was sitting on the bean bag chair, his eyes unfocused as he thought. 

"Hey Mikey, where were you this morning?" Rocky hissed, still laughing a little.

"Out. Thinking." Mike answered, still not looking at the crew. Rocky raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah hear that fellas? Mike was out thinking? That's new."

Michael didn't respond.

"Yeah wull, ya missed one helluva tang dare Mickey. We fixed Raven and Red's wagons, didn' we Rock?" Deckland said, rubbing his hands together.

"What'd you do?" Michael boomed, snapping his head towards the boys.

Rocky shrugged. "Gave their lockers a little paint job. That's all."

Then, Rocky took out an empty can of black spray paint and bent down, picking up the loose floorboard and throwing the can in.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 12

Raven was sitting on a metal folding chair that Debra had brought in off to the side of Lawler's desk, waiting for her parents. Principal Lawler sent Eddie and Ben to class, and hadn't spoken a word to her since. He made a few calls and, at the moment, was writing something in a small book. Raven played with her fingers, wishing she could call Chelsea and know where she was. She hoped that Chelsea was okay. Raven knew how scared Chelsea was of what other people thought of her. And having "dyke" written on the lockers was definitely not the way Chelsea wanted other people to find out about them.

It scared Raven to think about what Chelsea could be doing. Fortunately, she didn't have to think about it too long, when Debra called on the intercom.

"Principal Lawler, Mr. and Mrs. Baxter are here."

"Send them in please. Thank you Debra." Principal Lawler said, straightening his tie.

In seconds, Victor and Tanya came in. Tanya went to Raven, who stood up. "Honey, are you okay?" Tanya asked, concerned, as she hugged Raven.

Raven nodded numbly.

Victor shook Lawler's hand. Tanya hugged Raven one more time before going over to Lawler and shaking his hand as well. "Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Baxter. Nice to see you again. I'm sorry it's over something as horrible as this."

"Well, what exactly happenedMr. Lawler?" Victor asked, looking at Raven and then back at Lawler.

"This morning, before school, some vandals broke in and…defaced your daughter and her friend Chelsea Daniels' lockers."

"J-just Raven and Chelsea's lockers?" Tanya asked nervously, having a terrible feeling that she already knew what this was about.

Lawler nodded. "Yes. The vandals wrote a word. A specific word. A-a horrible word that would refer to Raven and Chelsea in a derogatory way."

"Dyke." Tanya stated, and Victor sighed heavily. Raven cringed as the word left her mother's lips. She shivered as she thought about the big bold four letter word that smacked her in the face and ruined her natural love high for the day and…possibly forever.

"Yes, that's the word. I'm having it cleaned up as we speak. It should be completely removed very shortly. I'm just sorry that it happened in the first place."

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" Victor said firmly.

"I assure you Mr. Baxter that the vandals will be caught and dealt with properly."

"Do you have any suspects?" Tanya asked, her Law school practices becoming evident.

"Yes, I have a few people in mind, Mrs. Baxter. However, they aren't in attendance today and I cannot reach their parents. But rest assured, they will be caught."

"So what do we do?" Victor asked, looking at Raven. "Should we take Raven home?"

"Yes, I think that would be best for today---"

"No." Raven interrupted, and all three adults looked at her.

"What honey?" Tanya asked.

"I don't want to go home. I want to go out there…and face it."

"Rae, I don't think that's the best idea--" Tanya started, but Raven stood up and shook her head.

"I need to go to my classes Mom, and face everyone. If I don't, things are just going to get worse."

Everyone stayed silent for a moment. Raven could see Lawler mulling it over. Then, he said, "If that's what you want Miss Baxter. I applaud your courage."

"Thank you, sir." Raven said, giving him a half smile.

Victor and Tanya stood up and shook Principal Lawler's hand again. "Thank you sir, for everything." Tanya said to Lawler and he nodded.

"Once again, I'm terribly sorry about all of this. I'll do everything in my power to make sure this never happens again."

Victor and Tanya both nodded and left with Raven behind them. Out in the empty hallway, Tanya stopped Raven. "Are you sure honey?"

"I'm sure Mom. I have to do this." Raven said, sighing heavily. "I'm just worried about Chelsea. She ran out of here as soon as she saw it."

"It'll be okay Raven." Victor said, but Raven didn't think he was as sure as he sounded. "Everything will be okay."

"I hope so." Raven said as her father wrapped her in a hug.

"If it gets too overwhelming, go to the office and call me or your mother. We'll pick you up."

Raven nodded. "Thanks, but I'm staying, no matter what."

"You're really brave baby girl." Tanya whispered, her eyes lining with tears. "I'm proud of you."

Raven hugged her mother one last time and then they left. She watched them go and then turned the corner to her locker. The cleaning crew was just about done. The guys were packing up by Chelsea's locker and just putting the finishing touches on Raven's. It didn't really matter though. It would still be there when she looked at her locker. The paint was gone, but the damage remained. And it might as well have been branded to her forehead in the eyes of her classmates.

The cleaning crew packed up and left, but not before a few of the men glanced her way, eying her suspiciously. Raven didn't care though. She just wanted to get in and out of her locker and find a way to muster up some courage for the rest of the day. Lucky her; she'd decided to stay just in time for lunch, where the staring, pointing, whispering, and possibly mocking would commence. Raven opened her locker, breathing in and out deeply, trying to steel herself for the next few seconds. She grabbed her lunch…and then the bell rang.

**RING!**

"Great."

Students flew from their classrooms to their lockers, eager to get their stuff for lunch, the only freedom they had in school. As the students passed the now legendary lockers, they slowed, as if they were looking at a car wreck. Raven kept her head inside her locker until she felt like she was becoming a part of it. The cleaning fluid left a suffocating chemical smell, and it swirled inside the locker and into Raven's lungs. Raven pulled her head from the locker and turned reluctantly, trying to keep herself from fainting. She had done so just in time to meet Bianca, Muffy and Loca.

"Hey Baxter." Bianca said sternly and Raven suppressed her urge to say, "Ow…ow…ow…"

"I'm not really in the mood ladies." Raven said flatly, trying her best to be brave. "What do you want?"

"Bianca wants to know if it's true." Muffy said quickly and Bianca nodded.

"Does Bianca need to know if it's true?" Raven asked, her whole body already deflating from exhaust.

Muffy looked at Bianca, who nodded. She turned her attentions back to Raven. "Yes. Bianca needs to know if it's true."

"All right. Yes. It's true. Chelsea and I are together. Happy now?" Raven said, raising her arms and then letting them fall against the sides of her legs.

Muffy and Loca exchanged a glance as they all waited for Bianca's response. Bianca looked Raven up and down, her eyebrow raised in her usual bad attitude. Then suddenly, her face softened.

"Okay." Bianca shrugged and then snapped her fingers. "Let's go."

"Thanks for stopping by." Raven said sarcastically as the three bullies left. Raven shook her head. At least Bianca and her crew didn't care. Maybe the rest of school would act that way.

Raven closed her door and walked to the cafeteria.

* * *

"Hey Rae! I didn't think you'd still be here." Eddie shouted, surprised as Raven approached the table that he, Chantel, and now Ben were sitting at.

"What would going home do for me? Gotta face the music sometime."

Raven looked around. Some of the student body was carrying on with their own lives. Most, however, were doing exactly what she had figured. They were staring at her and whispering to one another. A few pointed. She was suddenly regretting her decision to stay. But now, she had to stick to it.

"Wow. That is so brave." Chantel said, surprisingly looking up from her tray. "So, does that mean that it's true?"

Raven closed her eyes. She was going to hear a lot of that today. She sighed. "Yeah. It's true."

"Oh, that's cool." Chantel said, smiling.

"What, you don't care about it?" Ben asked, looking from Chantel to Raven and then back to Chantel.

"No. Why would I care? She's still Raven, isn't she?"

Raven nodded, relieved that Chantel was being so…nonchalant.

"I have a cousin whose gay. He's really cool." Chantel stated, putting a hand under her chin. "Must've been tough keeping it a secret."

Raven nodded. "Yeah, but I have a feeling it's going to get a lot tougher."

Chantel shrugged. "You never know. Maybe nobody will mind."

"Wow baby, you're being so cool about this." Eddie said, amazed.

"Yeah well, it's kind of a relief. Now I don't have to worry so much when you hang out with Raven and Chelsea anymore."

Raven laughed a little as Eddie put a hand over his heart. "Baby, I'm hurtin! You didn't trust me?"

"I did! I do. It's just…I couldn't help but be a little, just a little, jealous of Rae and Chelsea. Well, a little bit more Raven--"

"Really?" Raven asked, her ego growing a little.

"Girl, you just crazy. I would never cheat on you!" Eddie said, but not angrily.

"Yeah I know."

As Eddie and Chantel continued to playfully argue, Ben turned to Raven. "Did you see Chelsea?"

"No. She ran out of school when she saw the lockers. I wish I could talk to her."

"Did you try to call her?"

"No. But I should, shouldn't I?"

Ben nodded. "Tell her I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I don't know." Ben shrugged. "I guess I just feel bad that I didn't see it coming."

"I didn't see it coming either. Funny how those old visions work huh?" Raven whispered into Ben's ear.

Ben nodded. "What's the point if they can't help you out?"

"Exactly." Raven agreed, standing up. "Listen, I'm gonna go make a phone call. I'll see you guys in class."

"Okay Rae. You sure you'll be all right by yourself?"

"Yeah." Raven nodded. "I'm a lesbian...I can take it like a man." Raven joked, but nobody really laughed.

Raven walked out of the lunchroom, trying her best to be confident, and feeling the eyes of everyone burning holes through her body.

* * *

Chelsea cracked open her eyes when her cell phone began to ring. Her back, arms and legs were tingling from laying on the carpet and her muscles were sore from lack of movement. She had stayed there for a while, in that same position. What else was she going to do?

Sitting up, she lazily sifted through her pocket and picked up the phone. "Hello?" She rasped, her throat dry and scratchy.

"Chels?" That familiar, concerned voice filled her ears and she closed her eyes. _Raven._

"Hey." She whispered, clearing her throat a little, but that hurt.

"Are you okay?" Raven asked. Chelsea could feel her worry though the phone.

"Yeah, just peachy."

"Where are you?"

"Home."

"Oh, good. Good. I was worried."

"Yeah well, where else was I going to go?"

Raven didn't answer. Chelsea went back to her position on the floor, a shaky sigh escaping her mouth.

"Things are so messed up." She said, her already scratchy voice breaking.

"I know. But they'll get better Chelsea. I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep Rae."

"I don't."

There was silence.

"Chels? You still there?"

"Yeah"

"It's all cleaned up. You-you can't even tell that anything was there."

"That's nice."

"Chelsea."

"It doesn't matter Rae, because I'm still going to see it when I go to my locker. Even if it's gone it'll always be there, haunting me. Dyke. Might as well burn it into my face--"

"Don't think that way Chelsea. We'll get through this. We will."

Chelsea sighed. "Yeah." She said, and Raven could sense a hint of defeat in her voice. It scared her.

"Chels--"

"Listen Rae, I'm not…really up for talking right now. So…"

"Okay. As long as you're okay."

"Mmm-hmmm."

"I'll see you later. I love--" Raven stopped; the dial tone hummed in her ear.

Pressing the 'end' button on her phone, Raven put a hand to her mouth and took a sharp breath; tears threatened to spill down her cheeks at any second, but she didn't want them to.

Chelsea sounded so broken on the phone and Raven felt her heart shatter. Suddenly, her sadness turned to anger. If Rocky was indeed responsible, Raven couldn't even fathom what she would do to him. She didn't care what would happen to her. He had ruined Chelsea, and for that, he would pay.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 13

The rest of the day dragged on, but Raven had successfully made it to her last class of the day. The teacher was absent, there was a sub, but he was talking on his cell phone the whole time. Raven rubbed her forehead, sighing. She was all alone. Eddie didn't have this class and Chelsea was…gone, so Raven had no one to talk to.

She dodged some paper balls and airplanes. Kids could be so…stupid. She closed her eyes and leaned her throbbing head on the cold desk, hoping for some relief. Raven had been asked if she were a lesbian countless times since lunch, and it left her with a massive headache. Most of the time, all the kids needed was a yes. Some of the time, the kid would blab on and on about how brave she was and how horrible it must've been to see, "dyke" written on her locker. A few asked about Chelsea. Raven answered all of their questions and kept up with all of their conversations, even though she didn't want to.

She figured that getting it all out today would make it easier to handle tomorrow for both her and Chelsea. She did it more for Chelsea though. Chelsea could come back to school and today's events would be old news. By tomorrow, the kids would have something else to talk about, and Chelsea wouldn't feel so insecure and uncomfortable.

Raven hoped that's how it would go. Right now, nobody had asked anything, and there were ten minutes until the end of school. All she needed to do was get through it.

As she was sitting there letting the cold, clammy desk relieve her headache, something stuck her in the back of the head. She flinched and grabbed the object quickly. She lifted her head slightly and looked at it. A freaking paper airplane.

This one had something written on it. **R U REALLY A LESBO?**

That was it. The last straw. Raven had had enough.

She slammed her hand on the desk so loud it made the whole class jump. Crushing the paper plane between her fingers, Raven stood up and walked to the front of the class. The substitute looked at her, flipping his cell phone down. Students turned into their desks, facing forward, watching Raven as if she were the teacher.

"Okay. Who wrote this?" Raven yelled, holding up the plane.

Nobody answered. She figured that much.

"All right. I'm only going to say this one more time. Yes, I am a lesbian. Are you happy now? Huh? Does that fill the void in your lives? Does that provide you with some sort of sick satisfaction? Really people, why do you care? I'm not doing anything to you guys. I'm still me, Raven Baxter. So what if I happen to like a girl?"

Raven really wanted to say 'love' but that wasn't anybody's business.

"So yes. There it is. Go on, tell all your buddies. Spread the word. Raven Baxter is a lesbian, and she doesn't give a damn about who knows it. And then, get over it." Raven crumpled up the paper and threw it on the floor, walking out of the classroom.

Then, the bell rang.

Raven didn't even bother to stop by her locker as she ran out of the school.

* * *

Raven finally stopped running when she reached Chelsea's house. Bending over and putting her hands on her knees for support, Raven took deep breaths. Running in heels was never, ever easy…or fun. After a few moments, she straightened up and put a hand on the back of her hip, still panting a little. She shuffled up the steps to Chelsea's front door and pressed the doorbell.

Nobody answered.

Raven looked in the driveway. The Daniels' car was gone. Maybe they had gone out. Raven didn't think Chelsea would want to go out after today.

She rang the doorbell one more time, waiting a few seconds for an answer. When none came, she turned around reluctantly and started back down the steps. A few seconds later, she heard the click of the door lock and she turned. The door opened a little, revealing Chelsea.

"Hey." Raven said softly, still trying to catch her breath.

Chelsea didn't look too hot. Her hair was messed and covered her face, which Raven could see was shined by tears that weren't wiped away. Her eyes were puffy. She stood by the door, wilted. Her whole stance was deflated, exhausted…defeated.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" Chelsea asked, holding the door close to her body.

"I just wanted to see how you were holding up." Raven stood there, almost afraid to move. "Can…can I come in?"

Chelsea pulled some hair behind her ear and nodded. She stepped back as Raven cautiously pushed the door open, stepped inside, and then closed it. Looking around the house, she realized that Chelsea's parents weren't there. "Where are your parents?"

"At school. They left to meet with the principal a while ago."

"Oh. My parents went before."

Chelsea nodded, avoiding eye contact with Raven. They moved to the living room where Raven sat down on the couch.

"You want something to drink?" Chelsea asked, hesitant to sit.

"No. I just want to talk to you. Come sit." Raven patted the cushion next to her.

Chelsea didn't move for a minute, but then gave in and slowly sat on the couch a few inches away from Raven. Raven went to touch her hand, but Chelsea shied away.

"Chels?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just freaked."

Raven sighed, picking at the nail polish on her finger. "I'm freaked too. But Principal Lawler promised to catch the people who did this. And I swear the lockers are all cleaned up."

"Yeah, but that doesn't change what happened. All our classmates…they're gonna want to know." Chelsea whispered, feeling more tears come to her eyes.

"I handled it Chelsea. You don't have to worry about that."

"How did you handle it?"

"I just told them the truth."

"You didn't."

"What?"

"Rae, please tell me you didn't announce to everyone that we're gay." Chelsea stood up, agitated.

Raven looked at Chelsea, gulping a little. "I-I didn't announce it. Some kids asked…so I told them the truth--"

"Oh my God Raven! Why, why would you do that?"

"Hey, wait. No, it's okay--"

"No! Raven you know how I felt about that! You knew I didn't want to tell anyone!" Chelsea yelled at Raven and then stormed off to her room.

Raven sat there in shock for a moment, and then stood up. "Chels." She shouted as she jogged into Chelsea's room. Chelsea was sitting in the corner of her bedroom, her knees up under her chin. More tears streamed down her face. "Chelsea. I know how you feel sweetie, but the minute the spray paint dried, that decision was out of our hands. What, did you want me to deny it? Huh? Say that I'm not going out with you?"

Raven got down on her knees in front of Chelsea and wiped a few tears away from her cheeks. She put a hand under Chelsea's chin and lifted her head so their eyes met. "Say that I don't love you? Because I'm not going to do that."

Chelsea didn't answer. She didn't look into Raven's eyes like she usually did. Instead, she turned her head away, letting her messed hair fall into her eyes. And she whispered, "Maybe we should take a break."

"Wh-what?" Raven asked, sitting back on her feet. 'She didn't say that. You didn't hear that.' She thought nervously. There was no way…

"I can't take this Rae. Telling our parents was a mistake. And now this…it's too much."

"Don't say that. That's not true. We can get though this. We can."

"I'm sorry. I can't."

Raven's eyes burned with hot, salty tears. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. How could Chelsea be saying this to her?

Chelsea wiped her own cheeks with her hand and stood up. She walked past a shocked Raven to her window. She stood there, with her back to Raven, hugging herself.

Raven stood up and turned. Finding her voice, she angrily muttered, "You're quitting? Hmmm? You're giving up? Just like that? You're great when everything's going fine and dandy, but the minute there's a problem, you go running?"

She moved closer to Chelsea, her voice rising as she spoke. "So what, what you said on Saturday was a lie? You told me you loved me and you didn't mean one God Damn word of it! Is that it?"

Chelsea didn't respond. She didn't even turn around, but Raven could see her shoulders shaking with quiet sobs. Tears streamed down her own hot cheeks and she gasped in some shaky air. Her heart was breaking.

"I want you to know Chelsea, that I love you. I love you more than I could ever have imagined. I thought you loved me too. And I thought we could get through this, because that's what people who love each other do. When things get bad…horrible, people who really love one another stick together. They fight to stay together. Because…some things are worth fighting for. And I knew this was it. You are the one thing in my life that I thought was worth fighting for."

Raven paused, hoping that Chelsea would turn around an tell Raven she thought the same way. She could picture Chelsea running into her arms, begging for forgiveness, saying that their love was worth it. Chelsea didn't turn. She didn't budge an inch.

And just like that, Raven's heart shattered into a million pieces.

"I guess I was wrong."

Raven didn't know what else to say. She felt as if her world was crashing down around her. Chelsea's room became a blur. The walls seemed to melt; colors meshed together in one big glob. Chelsea did too; blending with the wall by the window. It felt hot and suffocating. Raven put a hand to her throat. She couldn't breath. She had to get out of there.

So she ran. She ran from the house to the outside world. It spun faster than it ever had before. Raven could feel herself stagger and she gripped on to the cold steel fence of a house. Everything was out of focus. People had no faces as they passed by. There was a loud hum in her ear, blocking out all other forms of noise. She couldn't stop though. She had to keep moving, so she let go and began to walk down the street, hugging herself and staring at her shoes, the only things that stayed in focus.

After what seemed like an eternity, Raven looked up. She was in her bathroom, staring at the toilet.

There was a horrible tickle in her throat and she tasted bile. She collapsed into the toilet, emptying the contents of her stomach into the bowl. When it finally ceased, she fell back, sitting against the small porcelain bathtub.

Then, she passed out.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 14

_Raven sat on a park bench in the middle of the night, watching the lamppost flicker. The dull light was fading in and out... Suddenly, a figure moved to her right. She turned to it slowly. Red hair silhouetted in the moonlight, but the face was dark._

_"Raven." The figure called._

_Raven straightened herself on the bench. "Chels, what are you doing here?"_

_Chelsea didn't answer. She just stood there, her face shadowed by the night. Raven stood up, feeling very afraid. Chills ran up and down her spine._

_"Ch-Chelsea?"_

_"Turn on the light." Chelsea ordered, pointing behind Raven._

_Raven turned and realized she was against a wall. A big switch stuck out from the wall next to her. She looked at Chelsea, who was still cloaked in darkness. Very reluctantly, Raven flipped the switch._

_Bright lights blinded her for a second. When her vision cleared, Raven realized she was standing in front of the entire school. There was a sea of hateful faces. Chelsea stood in front, her arms crossed._

_"What's this?"_

_"You told everybody Raven. Now I hate you. And so does everybody else."_

_Raven stood against the wall, horrified. "Chelsea…you don't mean that."_

_"Get the dyke." Chelsea hissed lowly and everyone stepped forward._

_They surrounded Raven as she pushed further against the wall. "No. Chelsea please! No!"_

_The angry mob inched closer, mumbling "Dyke…dyke…dyke…"_

_"You brought this on yourself."_

_Raven pushed impossibly against the wall, closing her eyes, turning her head away and screaming as loud as she could. Suddenly, a pair of hands gripped her shoulders._

_"AHHHH!"_

"Raven. Raven!"

Raven snapped open her eyes and started to struggle…until she realized it was her mother holding her. She calmed down just a bit, staring into her mother's very concerned face.

"Rae, honey? Are you all right? What are you doing on the bathroom floor? Why were you screaming?" Tanya shot out all at once, panic and worry taking over her.

Raven looked at Tanya, and then burst into tears. Tanya pulled Raven close, rocking her slowly and rubbing her back. "Shhh. It's okay. It's all right. What happened?"

"She…she…" Raven sobbed, trying in vain to get the words out.

"She who? Chelsea? Raven, honey, what happened?"

"She broke up with me!" Raven finally managed to choke out, sobbing uncontrollably. Tanya just held her daughter tighter, rocking back and forth. She had never seen her daughter so upset. So…heartbroken. Tanya slowly felt the heat rising in her face. Anger took over. How dare Chelsea do this to her baby. She had a right mind to go over to the Daniels' house and knock some sense into that girl.

That girl…the girl that broke Raven's heart. A girl…

Suddenly and unexpectedly, relief washed over Tanya, drowning out her anger. Raven and Chelsea wouldn't be dating anymore. But it didn't last long. Guilt quickly followed relief…and then sadness.

"It's okay baby. It's okay…" Tanya whispered in her broken daughter's ear, hugging her tightly and continuing to rock.

_"It's okay."_

* * *

Principal Lawler sat back in his chair, trying his best to act both threatening and calm. These kids didn't fear him, he knew that. He needed to be firm and in control. If he lost it, things would get out of hand. 

Rocky sat in one leather chair, picking off small pieces of the corner of the arm. Michael sat in another, his arms crossed and his head down. Deckland stood off to one end, leaning up against the wall, chewing gum loudly. Tyrone stood off to the other side, just leaning against the wall and staring behind his dark shades.

Lawler took a good long look at each of them, and wondered why he hadn't expelled them all a long time ago.

"All right. I think you know why you're all here today."

Rocky shook his head. "Actually, we don't."

"Oh, I think you do, Mr. Collera. I brought you all here today to discuss the defacement of two of our students' lockers. Would you happen to know who they are?"

Rocky was about to shake his head but Michael interrupted. "Raven Baxter and Chelsea Daniels."

"Yes. That's right. Now, can you tell me anything about this vandalism?"

Michael shrugged.

"Are you saying you don't know Mr. Whitman?"

Michael didn't answer. Rocky glared at him, sending him death rays with his eyes, warning him not to say another word.

Lawler leaned forward. This kid was the weak link. He was the one who would crack. "Then how did you know whose lockers it was?"

Rocky answered for Michael. "It's all over school. The chicks are dykes. That's what was on the lockers."

Lawler shot him a warning glare.

"I'm just saying that's what I heard is all." Rocky put both his hands up in surrender, shaking his head a little.

"That's what you heard."

Rocky nodded.

"Do any of you boys know who could have possibly written such a horrible word on the girls' lockers?"

"It wasn't me." Michael mumbled, still lost in thought.

"It wasn't us." Rocky corrected, trying his hardest not to tackle Michael right then and there.

"Oh, I think it was you Mr. Collera. You and your little buddies wanted to teach the girls a lesson for getting you in trouble. Am I right?"

"No."

"I'm wrong in thinking this way?"

Rocky couldn't control himself any longer. His face turned red as he shouted, "Listen, we didn't do nothing and you can't prove we did. So why don't you stop dicking us around and let us go?"

Lawler sat back, putting his hand under his chin; they had left him no other choice.

"No. I think I'll take your detention one step further and suspend you for two weeks. All of you."

"What! You can't do that!" Rocky shouted, standing up with such force that the leather chair tipped over. Tyrone and Deckland stepped up behind him.

"Yeah. Ya can' do that." Deckland echoed.

"I can and I will."

Michael looked up. "I said I didn't do anything."

"I don't believe you Mr. Whitman." Lawler retorted. "Unless you have some information that I don't."

Michael looked at the gang and then back at Lawler. He shook his head and remained silent.

"Okay then. Suspension starts this minute. Security will be waiting outside to escort you all off school property. And mark my words, if I find any one of you on school premises before your suspension is up, you'll be arrested for trespassing and expelled."

Lawler sat back in his chair trying to contain his victorious smirk. They all stood there for a moment, Rocky's heavy breathing filling the silence.

Then, a security guard opened the door. "Principal Lawler, we're ready."

"Good day boys."

Michael got up and was the first to leave. Tyrone followed slowly behind. Deckland walked to the doorframe and then stopped. Rocky didn't move; he squinted at Lawler in anger, his face red with fury.

"I said good day Mr. Collera."

"Rock." Deckland called and Rocky let out a big sigh.

Then he turned and walked out.

As soon at the security guard closed the door, Lawler let out a big sigh. That was tougher than he thought it would be, but he had won. He was still a little upset that Michael hadn't told, but suspension ought to keep the boys in line.

At least, that's what he thought.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 15

Chelsea sighed as she opened her locker and threw her textbook in. The cleaning guys had done a nice job with the door, just like Raven had said, but she could still picture the spray paint in her mind. Raven was also right in telling everyone. When Chelsea came to school the day after, virtually nobody had confronted her or mocked her. Nobody pointed and whispered. Nobody laughed. Rocky and his gang were suspended so she didn't have to deal with their torment. Life moved on. Except for one thing…

Raven hadn't come to school for four days. It was Friday now, and Chelsea kept expecting Raven to be by her locker, bopping her head up and down to her walkman, or talking to Eddie. Maybe "expecting" wasn't the right word. Hoping was more like it. Chelsea hoped Raven would be there. Then it would seem like Raven was okay, and she wouldn't feel so horrible for breaking things off. But Raven wasn't here and she did feel horrible.

And she was starting to regret her decision.

But she didn't know how to make things right. Two days ago, Eddie met with Chelsea at her locker and they had a big fight. Chelsea shuddered at the memory of his anger and disappointment.

_"I have never, ever seen Rae so bad. You broke her heart Chels."_

_"Do you think it's easy for me Eddie? Huh? Hurting her that way?"_

_"Sure looks like it."_

_"You don't understand how scared I am. How afraid I am of what everyone else is going to think of us. But you can't understand. You'll never understand. Nobody understands."_

_"I know one person who does. Rae. She knows how it is because she was with you. And she thought you were gonna get through this together. Rae handled everything all for you. The kids who just kept asking, the pointing and the whisperers, everything. Not for her, but for **you**… And she would have stood by you no matter what, but you left her all alone. Because you're selfish. All you seem to think about is yourself Chelsea. Well now, you're all you got."_

Eddie stormed off that day, and Chelsea hadn't spoken to him since. The only person who seemed to not hate her was Ben. He was the only one who listened to her side of the story. He didn't judge, he just listened.

As she closed her locker, that's who was standing on the other side of the door. Ben.

"Hey Chelsea. How ya doing today?"

"Not so good."

"What happened? Did someone say something to you?"

Chelsea shook her head. "No. I was just thinking about Rae."

"Oh." Ben nodded, understanding.

"I think I made a mistake." She muttered softly, leaning against her locker door.

"Breaking it off you mean?"

"Yeah. But I think it's too late now."

"It's never too late Chelsea."

Chelsea disagreed. "No. I think it might be. I hurt her so bad. How could I make things right?"

Ben sighed. "I don't know. But you'll figure it out."

Chelsea gave Ben that sarcastic, 'Gee, thanks that helps a lot' face and stood up straighter.

"You will." Ben said simply. "And if you need any help, I'm here for you."

"Thanks." Chelsea said, wrapping Ben in a hug. "For everything."

"You're welcome."

The bell for first period rang and students hustled to their classrooms. Ben and Chelsea parted, and Ben went to class. Chelsea dilly dallied, thinking about what she could possibly do to fix her mess.

And she decided that maybe talking to Raven would be a start.

* * *

Tanya knocked on Raven's bedroom door, letting herself in because she knew Raven wouldn't answer. Raven was lying on her bed, just staring up at the ceiling; doing the same thing she had been doing for the past four days…nothing. Tanya sighed. At least today Raven looked like she showered. But it also looked like she had been crying. Tanya didn't think she could take much more of seeing her daughter this way.

She sat down on Raven's bed, moving a stray hair behind her daughter's ear. "Hey sweetie. How are you feeling today?"

"What time is it?"

"A little after three. You hungry? You want me to fix you something?"

"No."

"You have to eat something Raven."

"I'm not hungry. Maybe later."

Tanya sighed. "Look. I know it hurts, but you can't keep living like this. You have to get up, get out, and move on with your life sweetie. You've been in here for four days straight. You missed a lot of school. You can't miss another week."

"I don't want to go back there."

"Why not?"

"Because she'll be there."

"Raven. You have got to be strong. Chelsea isn't the only…person you're ever going to love. This isn't the end of the world. It may seem like it, but it's not. It's going to take some time, but you are going to move on and find someone else."

"Chelsea is the only one for me. Was…the only one for me."

"Raven, you are really starting to scare me and your father. Even Cory is worried. Honey, if you don't at least try to move on, we're going to have to send you to a psychiatrist."

"I don't know how to."

"What?"

"I don't know how to move on."

Tanya grabbed Raven's hand. "You take things slow. You get up, get dressed. Then, you go outside, take a walk maybe. Go to the mall. Hang out with Eddie. He's been over here every day, asking how you are."

Raven propped herself up on her elbows. "Have you heard from Ch--"

"No. I haven't. And I don't think I would want to either because if I get on the phone with that girl--" Tanya ranted, her eyes squinting in anger, her lips pulled tight to her mouth as she thought about strangling Chelsea. Raven quickly snapped her out of it though.

"Mom!"

"Sorry baby."

Raven lay back down. "It's all right." She sighed. "It just hurts so much, you know?" Her voice cracked and new tears pooled in her eyes.

"I know Raven. I know. But you can't let it paralyze you like this. It's tough, it's hard, and it's going to hurt for a while, but you have to move on…or you're going to be stuck like this forever."

"What if I don't want to move on?"

Tanya sighed at Raven, shaking her head. "Then, you're doing this to yourself."

Raven brought her hands up to her face and rubbed her eyes with her fingertips. Tanya stood up. There was nothing more she could do. It was up to Raven now.

"I'll be downstairs if you need me Raven. Okay?"

"Okay."

Tanya turned to leave but stopped when Raven called to her.

"Mom?"

"Yes honey?"

"Thanks."

Tanya smiled. "Anytime baby girl. Anytime."

She left the room, closed the door and went back downstairs. Victor and Cory were in the living room putting jackets on.

"Hey, where are you two going?"

"We're gonna go out to 'The Chill Grill' for a while. We were waiting for you."

"Oh, thanks, but I think I'm just going to stay here. You guys go out though. Have fun."

"Are you sure now?" Victor asked, walking over to her. Tanya nodded. Victor then whispered. "How's Raven?"

"She's better I think." Tanya whispered back.

"Okay." Victor replied, kissing his wife gently on the lips. Then, he turned to Cory. "You ready?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go then."

Victor gave Tanya one more kiss and then he and Cory headed out the door. Tanya waved as they closed the door, and then sighed heavily once they were gone. She went into the kitchen; she was going to fix Raven a sandwich and make her eat it whether she wanted to or not.

Tanya took out the cold cuts and turned to get the bread when the doorbell rang. "What now?" She said aloud as she hustled into the living room.

The doorbell rang again.

"I'm coming." Tanya said, jogging up the steps. She opened the door and literally stopped breathing.

Chelsea stood there with her books in her hands, avoiding eye contact, shying away from the door. She looked guilty, uncomfortable, and just a little afraid. "H-Hi, Mrs. Baxter."


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 16

Already things weren't going her way. Chelsea had hoped that Raven would be the only one home and that she would answer the door. 0 for 2.

Chelsea tried her best to look at Tanya in the eye, but her eyes weren't going where she wanted them too. They moved all over the place; to her shoes, or the porch, the living room behind Tanya, the mailbox…but not directly into Tanya's eyes.

They had been standing there in silence for a few minutes, but it felt like hours. Chelsea finally found the courage to speak up. Clearing her throat and gaining the strength to at least pick her head up, Chelsea stammered, "Uh…I-is Raven h-here?"

"Why?" Tanya said, restraining herself. She really wanted to give Chelsea a piece of her mind.

"I-I wanted to talk to her."

"Again why? So you can hurt her all over again?"

"No." Chelsea shook her head.

Suddenly, Tanya snapped.

"You broke my baby's heart. You've ruined her. Raven hasn't gotten out of bed for four days straight. All she does is cry. She doesn't eat, she won't sleep...she doesn't even talk most of the time. And you have the nerve to show up at this doorstep--"

"Please, Mrs. Baxter." Chelsea pleaded, but Tanya put a hand up.

"Don't interrupt me. You have no idea what you did to Raven. How much you broke her." Tears pooled in Tanya's eyes. "She really did love you."

Chelsea's bottom lip quivered as tears formed in her eyes. "I'm sor--"

"Don't you dare say that. That won't fix one thing."

"If you would just please let me see her--"

"No."

"Please."

"NO." Tanya crossed her arms and leaned on the door frame. She tried to act tough, but her heart was going out to Chelsea just a little. She could see the torment within Chelsea. She could see how guilty Chelsea actually felt. And she was genuine when she started to say she was sorry. But Tanya was thinking about her daughter and only her daughter. It was too soon. Raven wouldn't be able to handle seeing Chelsea just yet.

Chelsea knew that she wasn't getting past the door today; maybe she wouldn't ever again. But she had to make things right. Speaking to Raven was out of the question. So she nodded, swallowing her tears and her defeat. "Okay." She whispered meekly. "I'm…just gonna go then."

Tanya sighed, tightening her jaw. "I think that's a good idea."

Chelsea nodded again and the turned and slowly walked down the stairs. Tanya sighed again, watching Chelsea go. She closed the door and wiped away a few tears she let fall from her eyes, turning back to the living room. She jumped and almost screamed when she saw Raven sitting on the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh, Raven!" Tanya gasped breathlessly, putting a hand on her heart. She walked toward her daughter, who was crying a little. "Are you okay?"

Raven nodded. "I heard her outside…"

"I'm sorry honey. I just thought it was too soon."

"You're right. When I heard her…I felt…I didn't know what to do. I ran down here; I wanted to see her so bad, but I knew that wouldn't help. So I forced myself to sit here. And I heard all the things that you said." Raven looked up at Tanya. "Thanks Mom."

Then, she stood up and gave Tanya a hug. Tanya hugged her back tightly. "Okay."

They separated and Tanya sighed for what seemed the millionth time within a few minutes. "So, are you hungry?"

Raven nodded. "Yeah."

"All right. I was going to make you a sandwich."

They walked for the kitchen, their arms draped around one another.

* * *

Ben was sitting on his couch, flipping through the channels rapidly when the doorbell rang. He got up, jogged over and opened the door. Chelsea stood there, looking at nothing for a minute, lost in thought. 

"Chelsea? What are you doing here?"

Chelsea looked at Ben. "I need your help."

Ben nodded and stepped aside. Chelsea stepped inside and he closed the door.

* * *

"GOD DAMN IT!" Rocky shouted, throwing Michael's boom box across the shed. It hit the wall with a loud crash, shattering. 

Michael lay sprawled out on the floor, blood running from his lip, nose and eyebrow. His left eye was already starting to swell shut, his lungs burned, and his stomach was sore where they took turns kicking him. Salty tears burned his wounded eye, mixing with the blood running down his face.

Deckland and Tyrone stood back, letting Rocky "express" his anger and disappointment in Michael.

"WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU DOING! YOU GOT US ALL FUCKING SUSPENDED YOU DICK!"

Michael coughed in response, rolling on his side and pulling his knees up toward his stomach. Rocky paced back and forth in front of Michael, like a lion stuck in a cage.

Suddenly, he bent down and grabbed Michael by the collar, lifting his upper body off the floor. "I'd kill you if I didn't know you were such a dumb shit." He whispered, his whole body shaking with anger.

"I'm s-sorry Rocky. It-it won't happen again." Michael sobbed, grabbing Rocky's arm, trying not to shout in pain. The position Rocky had him in made his already throbbing abdomen hurt more. Plus it was starting to get to his back.

Rocky shook Michael a little, his grip tightening and then loosening on his collar. After a few intense moments, Rocky let go of Michael and let him fall to the floor. Michael sniffled, wiping the blood and tears away with his dirty hand. It didn't help; it only smeared blood across his face.

"Get out. Go clean yourself up." Rocky said, staring at the pathetic figure lying at his feet.

"Aw, ya mean da fun's over?" Deckland said, pretending to be disappointed.

"Shut up." Rocky ordered and Deckland closed his mouth. Tyrone just stood there, a sick smile spreading across his face.

Michael slowly rose to his feet, hunched and putting an arm to his stomach from the pain. He took one last look at his, "friends" before limping to the doorway and leaving. Rocky stormed over to the cooler, ripped open the lid, and grabbed a beer.

"Clean this up."He said, kicking a piece of the boom box with his boot. He cracked open the beer and left the shed too.

Deckland growled as soon as the door closed. "Why do we always hafta fecking clean up dis place? We're not housewives ya know." He yelled at no one in particular. Tyrone nodded in agreement, turning and grabbing a broom and dustpan.

"Gimme dat." Deckland said, snatching the broom from Tyrone.

Slowly they began to clean up the mess.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 17

Eddie sat at his kitchen table, unconsciously eating all of the cookies in the bag he had in his hands, thinking about how messed up things had gotten. Raven was so broken-hearted that she couldn't function. Eddie felt so bad for her, but he didn't know what he could do to fix it.

Fighting with Chelsea had depressed him. Eddie almost never fought with Chelsea. But he was so angry with the way she was handling things that he couldn't help but fight with her. When he thought about the situation later, and thought about how insecure Chelsea really was, he could sort of understand her decision.

But that didn't make it right.

So, they were all separated, and Eddie was all alone. Chantel was out of town visiting some relatives, so the only company Eddie had was his cookies, and they were disappearing very quickly.

When the phone suddenly rang, Eddie contemplated just letting the machine get it, but if it was Chantel, she would be mad. So he got up and grabbed the phone, letting out a big sigh and saying, "Hello?"

"Eddie, uh, hey, it's Ben."

"Who?"

"Ben Hartman." There was a second of silence, followed by, "From school?"

"Oh! Sorry man, I didn't realize you had my number." And then it dawned on Eddie. Ben didn't have his number. Why would he give his home phone number out to Chelsea's ex-boyfriend? "How did you get my number?"

"That's kind of why I'm calling. Chelsea gave it to me. She's here right now. See, she needs our help, but she knew you wouldn't talk to her."

"Okay. So she knows I won't talk to her, but she thinks I'm gonna help her?"

"I don't know. All I know is that she needs our help. Your help more than mine."

"Why would I want to help her?"

"Because she's your best friend. And she wants to make things right with Raven. She's upset with herself for breaking it off and she wants to take it back."

"Yo, man…I think it's too late for that."

"I don't think so. It's never too late to undo something you did wrong."

Eddie thought it over. "Does she really want to make things right with Rae?"

"You know, why don't you just meet us by Chelsea's house and you two can talk about it there?"

"I need to know. If Chels really wants this, she's gotta say it now."

Ben sighed. "All right. Hold on."

Eddie held on while Ben asked Chelsea to take the phone and say she wanted to fix everything. After a few moments of silence, Chelsea said, "Yes."

"Yes what?"

"I…want to fix everything. I mean it."

"You sure now?"

"Yes." Chelsea didn't hesitate for a second, and Eddie knew she meant it.

"Okay. I'll meet you at your house in a few."

"Okay. Thanks."

Eddie hung up and grabbed h is keys. Whatever Chelsea had planned, it better be good.

* * *

Eddie arrived at Chelsea's house in minutes, meeting both Chelsea and Ben at the doorstep. 

"Hey." He said uncomfortably, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Hey." Chelsea said back, playing with a few strands of her hair.

They stood there, feeling all of the awkwardness between them. Then, Chelsea spoke up. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Eddie said flatly.

"For arguing with you. You were right. I was selfish. I was only thinking about myself and my fears and I didn't realize Raven was going through the same thing. But I'm different now, and I want to fix it. I want to try again, start over. I want to get Rae back."

"Why? Why should I believe you and why should I help you?"

"Because you're her best friend, and you're my best friend…and you know how much I really love her."

"Do you?"

"Yes." Chelsea exhaled, her voice breaking with emotion, "I really, really do."

Eddie looked at Chelsea and then at Ben, who nodded. He sighed, and then pulled Chelsea into a hug. Chelsea grabbed on tightly, beginning to cry in relief. Eddie squeezed tight, and Chelsea buried her face in his shoulder. "Thank you." She whispered through her tears.

"It's all good." Eddie replied, squeezing just a little tighter. It felt good to hug Chelsea. It felt good to have his best friend back. At least, one best friend.

As they parted, Eddie said, "So, what's the plan?" Chelsea sniffled a little and wiped her eyes.

Ben stood up as Chelsea said, "I'll tell you all about it inside."

Eddie nodded as they all went inside the house.

* * *

Rocky crouched by the fence in his backyard, gulping down the last few drops of his beer. He crushed the can and threw it at a passing bird. It missed the bird by centimeters and Rocky cursed. His aim was off. 

It was because of all the crap that was going on right now. Getting suspended because of two stupid Lesbos. They were nothing but a waste of space for him now. Much more trouble than they were worth.

And they needed to be taught a big lesson about messing with him. Nobody messes with Rocky Collera. Not even a couple of dykes like them.

He stood up just as Deckland and Tyrone exited the shed. They walked over to him.

"Hey Rock. We got it all spick and span in there for ya." Deckland joked, pointing to the shed.

Rocky pulled out a cigarette, put it to his lips, lit it and muffled, "Thanks"

"Whatchya doin?"

Rocky took a long drag of his cigarette. "I was just thinking about those two bitches." He rasped lowly, expelling all of the smoke from his mouth and nose.

"What about em?"

"They gotta pay. Fucking getting us all in trouble and we didn't even do nothing to them."

"Yeah, it's all der fecking fault. And Lawler's a dick."

"Who the fuck does he think he is, siding with those dykes? He ain't got no proof that we painted that, and he suspended us anyway because I was having a little fun with them a few days ago?"

"But we did paint it Rock." Deckland said, getting confused.

"But he doesn't know that you moron." Rocky hissed, turning to Deckland sharply. "It was just because me and Mikey were playin with them that one time."

"Ya both got two weeks detention over dat."

"And now we can't even go to the school."

"Who says?" Deckland smiled.

"My old man. I can't get arrested again. Not over something stupid like trespassing."

Deckland exhaled, bringing out his own cigarette to smoke. Rocky took another drag of his cigarette, kicking around some loose dirt. "Those bitches gotta pay."

"Feck em Rock. Dey ain't wort it."

"No they ain't. But they still gotta pay."

"Whaddaya gonna do Rock?"

He turned to Deckland, his whole face becoming demonically dark. "I'm gonna wait. I'm gonna be patient. I won't go within one hundred feet of that hellhole. And when the two weeks is up, I'm going back. And those bitches aren't gonna know what hit 'em."

Deckland and Tyrone exchanged evil glances, smiling maliciously.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 18

Raven walked into school and stopped by her locker, looking around wildly. Chelsea wasn't here yet. Hopefully, she could just get in and out of her locker without seeing her. She didn't want to come to school today, but Tanya had practically forced her to go.

_"But Mom! What about all that, 'it's too soon' stuff you were saying to me on Friday!"_

_"You have to be strong Raven! You can't miss out on another week of school because of Chelsea."_

_"But--but what if she comes up to me?"_

_"Don't let her. Avoid Chelsea as much as you can. And when you can't, try your best."_

_"Try my best to do what?"_

_"I don't know! Just…try your best."_

So, Raven came to school, and avoiding Chelsea was number one on her to-do list. Maybe, she would be lucky and Chelsea wouldn't be there…but that was unlikely.

She opened her locker, jumping back when something dropped out of it.

She crouched down, tilting her head to the side as she stared at the foreign object. A flat, thin square, neatly wrapped in simple white paper with a nicely written "**R**" on the front of it. Raven picked it up and examined it. It looked like a C.D. That's probably what it was. Looking around, she stuck it in her book bag. Taking out a few books, and closing the door, Raven turned just in time to bump into Eddie.

"Hey Rae. You made it back to school!" He said, hugging her.

She smiled meekly. "Yeah. Had to come back sometime."

"Yeah." He nodded, letting her go. "Hey, don't worry about the notes for the week. I photocopied everything for you, so you don't miss anything."

"Oh, thanks Eddie! You didn't have to do that."

"No problem. The last thing you need right now is to be behind in school."

Raven nodded, wrapping an arm around Eddie's waist. "Thanks. You're a really great friend."

"I know." Eddie replied, teasing. Raven smacked him playfully on the arm and he pretended it hurt.

They walked into history class together, taking seats next to one another. The room filled up quickly, and Raven's heart began to beat rapidly. Chelsea has the same history class. She would be here. Raven looked to her left. An empty seat that hadn't been filled was there. 'Oh God, she's gonna sit there.' Raven thought miserably. She scanned the classroom, praying that there was another empty seat somewhere. And then she gasped.

Chelsea was already in class. She was sitting on the opposite side of the classroom, all the way in the back, in the corner, scribbling furiously in her notebook. She wasn't looking at Raven or Eddie. How did she manage to slip past Raven's eyesight?

Eddie looked at Raven and then to where she was looking. He turned back to her and exhaled deeply. "Are you okay?"

"What is she doing back there?" Raven whispered frantically, not taking her eyes off of Chelsea.

"M-maybe she didn't want you to see her." Eddie stuttered, knowing full well why Chelsea sat over there.

She wanted to give Raven space. She wanted Raven to feel comfortable and unafraid to go to school. And maybe, if Raven didn't feel suffocated, their plan would work.

"What? A few days ago, she's begging my mother to see me, and now she doesn't want me to see her? That doesn't make any sense."

"Well, maybe she just wanted to give you some space."

Raven shifted her eyes to Eddie. "You think?" Then, she looked back at Chelsea. Chelsea still hadn't looked at them. Raven figured that they'd be playing that coy game in whichone person would look away when the other person looked up. It didn't work if one person wouldn't takeher eyes off ofher paper.

"Yeah. Just, don't pay attention to her Rae."

Raven scoffed. "Easier said than done."

"Just, turn around. Try your best." (There was that phrase again…) Eddie said, putting a hand on Raven's face and gently guiding her head to the front of the room.

The teacher walked in at that moment, sighing just as loudly as all of the children did. He didn't want to be here either. "All right class; open your textbooks to page 26."

As the teacher started to explain the contents on page 26, Raven looked back at Chelsea one more time. This time, Chelsea did look up, but then looked back down quickly. Raven thought she saw Chelsea's eyes water a little, but she had turned away so fast that she couldn't be sure.

And she was afraid to turn around again. So, she actually paid attention in class, and it was horrible.

* * *

Later at lunch, Chelsea was nowhere to be found. Raven sat with Eddie and Chantel, picking at her "Meatloaf surprise." Chantel was stuffing her face as usual, and Eddie was done. He pulled out his walkman. 

"Where's Chelsea?"

Eddie shrugged. "I dunno."

"Why isn't she here?"

"Raven, I said I don't know. Maybe she had something to do."

"She's always at lunch. Why, all of a sudden, would she be somewhere else?"

Eddie faked mild annoyance. "Like I said two times already, I don't know where she is girl! Remember when I said she was trying to give you some space? Maybe, not being here, is giving you space."

Raven sighed loudly. That made a lot of sense. Chelsea did know how bad she had hurt Raven…maybe she knew it was too soon. But then why come over on Friday like that? Raven was suddenly stolen from her thoughts with Eddie's excited voice.

"Hey Rae, you've gotta listen to this new song. It's off da hook!"

And suddenly, she remembered the thing that fell from her locker this morning. "Oh! Hey, you think I could borrow your walkman for a minute Ed?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?" Eddie asked, trying to sound as curious as possible. He knew why she needed it.

Raven pulled out the strange object from her book bag. "This fell out of my locker today. I think it's a C.D. It's probably from Chelsea. I just wanted to know what it was all about."

"Well, why don't you open it and see?" Eddie said enthusiastically. He had to report to Chelsea Raven's every facial gesture, every move, everything.

Raven carefully opened the package, revealing a clear plastic C.D. case and an unmarked C.D. inside. Raven tossed the paper aside and Eddie grabbed it. "Uh, Rae, look. I think there's some writing on the other side.

"Oh." Raven said, grabbing the paper back.

There was a simple sentence on the back, written neatly.

**_I wanted you to know, I'm sorry_.**

Raven breathed deeply. This was from Chelsea. She hesitantly popped the C.D. into Eddie's walkman, waiting a beat before pressing 'play.' Eddie noticed her reluctance. "What are you waiting for? Listen to it."

"O-okay." Raven said, pressing play.

Slow, strong, acoustic guitar beats filled her ears. What was this? Suddenly, a deep voice began to sing.

_I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh  
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away  
I keep your photograph; I know it serves me well  
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain_

_'cause I'm broken when I'm open  
And I don't feel like I am strong enough  
'cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome  
And I don't feel light when you're gone away_

Raven could already feel the burning sensation of future tears. She found it harder to breathe as the cords of the guitar filled her head and made her heart ache.

_The worst is over now and we can breathe again  
I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away  
There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight  
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain_

_'cause I'm broken when I'm open  
And I don't feel like I am strong enough  
'cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome  
And I don't feel right when you're gone away_

Tears trickled down Raven's face as she cupped a hand underneath her chin, listening to the soothing, yet pain-filled voice of this man. Did Chelsea really feel this way? Was she really sorry?

'_cause I'm broken when I'm open  
And I don't feel like I am strong enough  
'cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome  
And I don't feel light when you're gone away_

When the song ended, the C.D. was over, and the walkman turned off by itself. Raven slowly removed the headphones, wiping some tears away with her hands. Eddie stared at her, trying to swallow the lump his throat. "What was it?"

"It was the most beautiful song I have ever heard." Raven whispered. "It must be from Chelsea."

Eddie breathed deeply. It was a beautiful song, if a little sad. But that's was Chelsea wanted. She had picked out the song, he had burned it, and Ben had delivered it to Raven's locker. "So, what are you going to do now?"

Raven sniffled, blotting her eyes with a cafeteria napkin. "I don't know."

"Are you going to talk to Chelsea?"

"I don't know."

"You just gonna leave it alone?"

"Eddie, I don't know. I don't know what to do. It was a really, really nice song, but that doesn't make up for what she did to me. It doesn't."

"I know." Eddie reached over, taking one of Raven's hands in his, rubbing it in comfort. "What are you going to do with the C.D.?"

"I'm keeping it. It's a great song."

Eddie nodded, smiling inwardly. This, although not quite the reaction he had expected, was a positive one nonetheless. Chelsea would be pleased.

* * *

**_Author's Note: The song is called "Broken" from the band Seether. But it isn't the duet one, if any of you know what I'm talking about. It's on their first album "Disclaimer." It's the very last song, and it's not a duet. I think the song is a lot better without the girl (from Evanescence...did I spell that right?) It's more depressing when the guy ( I don't know his name) sings it alone...and it's more effective._**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 19

Raven walked into her house and threw her book bag on the floor by the closet, treading through the living room. "Hello? Anyone home?"

"In here Rae!" a muffled Tanya could be heard through the kitchen door.

Raven entered the kitchen and gasped. Cory was sitting on a chair by the counter, holding a small bag of ice on his left eyeball. Raven ran over to him. "What happened?"

"Cory got into a fight at school." Tanya said nonchalantly, like it wasn't that big of a deal. Raven's jaw dropped at both her mother's indifference and the fact that Cory actually fought somebody.

"Why did you get into a fight?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Cory huffed, shocking Raven.

"But what happened? I mean, how did--"

"I said I don't want to talk about it!" Cory snapped, getting up out of the chair and storming out of the kitchen up to his bedroom. Raven looked at Tanya, who tilted her head in sympathy.

"One of the kids at school told Cory you were a lesbian. I think his words were, 'yo sis is a big fat lesbo.' And Cory tried to defend you."

"What?" Raven gasped breathlessly. Tanya nodded. And then, Raven's eyes went wide. "Did-did you tell him…the truth?"

"I had to tell him honey." Tanya said, and then quickly added when Raven looked like she was going to yell, "What else was I going to do? Lie to him? Haven't we done enough of that?"

"No! We were just keeping it a secret."

"Lies by omission are still lies Raven." Tanya replied and Raven shook her head.

She put a hand one hand on her forehead and another on her back, exhaling loudly. Her mother was right. She had been keeping her secret from Cory for too long. Hopefully, he would be able to accept it. "I'm gonna go talk to him."

Raven went upstairs to Cory's room, knocking lightly on the door. "Cory? Can I come in?"

She heard a loud sigh and then, "Yeah."

Raven entered and took a seat next to Cory on his bed. He was still holding the ice to his eye, and he wasn't looking at her. He was looking at his shoes. His face shown both a mixture of anger and hurt and he shifted his body away from her a little.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine."

Tense silence filled his bedroom. They sat there for a few moments, until Raven spoke up.

"Thank you…for defending me."

"Yeah well, now I'm an idiot because I did it for no reason."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it's true." Cory said louder than he had intended. "You are a lesbian, so beating up that kid was for no reason."

"What are you talking about?" Raven asked a little hurt by Cory's anger. "You defended me. Somebody said something mean about me, and sure, while violence isn't really the answer, it was still nice of you to do that for me."

Cory took the ice off of his eyeball, revealing a slightly swollen eye with a large purplish bruise surrounding it. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was afraid to. Mom and Dad didn't know how to. So, we just kept it a secret."

Cory shook his head. "My sister's a lesbian. Do you know how hard it's going to be for me to go back to school tomorrow?"

Raven nodded sympathetically. "Yeah. It's hard for me too. Someone wrote 'dyke' on my locker. And now the whole school knows."

"Really?"

Raven nodded. "Well, me and Chelsea's lockers. Chelsea and I…we--"

"Oh no! Don't tell me that Chelsea's gay too!" Cory shouted, standing up. "This is nuts!"

"Okay, now just hold on there a second!" Raven shouted, standing up too. "What's the difference if Chelsea's also gay or not? The problem is that some jerk, like the kid you beat up, defaced our lockers, exposed us to the school, and ruined our relationship!" Raven could hear her voice become hoarse from emotion and her eyes burned, irritated from the countless tears she had cried for a week, and for the onslaught of tears she was going to cry.

Cory's face softened. "You were going out with Chelsea? Chelsea, your best friend. Chelsea, the girl we see all the time? My former 'baby' Chelsea?"

Raven laughed a little and nodded. "I was. But…she broke up with me." She whispered, sitting back down and feeling her eyelids become moist.

"Is that why you didn't leave your room this whole week? Because Chelsea broke up with you?" Cory asked, sitting back down next to Raven.

Raven nodded. "Yeah." She looked at the floor; she wasn't sure that Cory was ready to hear this, but she gave him the benefit of the doubt. She looked up at him. "I was kind of in love with her."

Cory didn't break his gaze with Raven. Instead, he simply asked, "You were kind of in love with her?"

"I was in love with her. I am in love with her."

"This is so crazy." He said, staring off into nowhere.

"Why is it crazy?" Raven said, nudging him a little with her elbow. "Up until a few hours ago, I was still Raven, wasn't I? I was still your big sister?"

"But now everything's different."

"No. I'm still me. It's just one little thing that's different."

"Nuh-uh. It's major. You don't like guys anymore Raven. You like girls."

Raven sighed. "I liked one girl. The only girl for me."

Cory didn't say anything after that, and the room fell into that uncomfortable silence that Raven really couldn't stand. She had to break it, so she said, "Do you hate me?"

Cory looked at her with his one good eye…and shook his head. "No."

"You think I'm a freak?"

"You were always a freak."

Raven smiled. "Brat."

"Jerk."

"Creep."

"Idiot."

Raven hit Cory on the arm with a pillow from the bed and he laughed. She rubbed his shaved head roughly and then patted it lightly, standing up. "So, we cool?"

Cory nodded. "Yeah."

"All right. Then, I'm gonna get going because there is a funk up in here. How long has it been since you cleaned this room?" She asked, opening the door and stepping out of the room.

"Well, how long you been keeping your secret from me?"

Raven shrugged. "A few months now."

"I'm way ahead of you."

Raven's face scrunched in disgust. "Gross. Ya nasty." She said, smiling and closing the door.

As she headed down the front stairs, the door bell rang. "I'll get it!" She said aloud, running down the rest of the way and opening the door.

A young man, probably in his early twenties, stood in the doorway with a large bouquet of beautiful flowers in his hand and a clipboard and pen in the other. He stared down at the board, chewing his gum loudly like a cow would chew cud. "Raven Baxter?"

"That's me."

"Sign here." He said, shoving the clip board toward her. Raven signed quickly and was suddenly attacked by the bouquet.

"Have a nice day." The guy said, turning around and jogging for his delivery van before Raven could even say a word.

Raven closed the door and stepped down toward the couch. Smelling the flowers, Raven closed her eyes and smiled. This was probably from Chelsea too. There were more flowers than she could count. This must have cost a pretty penny. Taking the flowers away from her face, Raven noticed a small white envelope in the middle of the bouquet.

Setting the flowers down on the coffee table and grabbing the envelope, Raven opened it and pulled out a small white card. Another simple note.

_**A flower for every time you said you loved me, and I didn't say it back.**_

_**I'm sorry.**_

Raven sighed, putting the card in her pocket and looked at the flowers. Just as she was about to pick them up, the doorbell rang again. She hopped up to the door and opened it; the same guy was standing there. This time, he held a bouquet of red roses in his hand. "Sorry." He said flatly. "Forgot this one."

"Thanks." Raven said and closed the door.

The fully bloomed roses were a beautiful, deep, rich, red color The scent radiated off of them. Raven frowned a little, taking the new white envelope from the roses. She opened the card, and felt her heart melt.

_**A rose for every time I said I loved you and meant it.**_

_**I love you**_.

Raven thought back to that Saturday night when Chelsea confessed her love for Raven for the very first time. Chelsea had said, "I love you" exactly eight times. Raven knew that because she counted them, and it never left her memory. Counting the roses, she realized there were nine.

And then she read the card again.

_**I love you**_.


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 20

Raven walked into school the next day feeling a little less afraid to see Chelsea. She didn't think she was ready to sit down and talk to the girl just yet, but not having a heart attack every time Raven saw red hair was a good step in the right direction.

As Raven turned the combination lock on her door, she wondered what surprise Chelsea had for her this time. Raven opened her locker, expecting something to fall out. But there was nothing. She frowned, disappointed. And the disappointment turned to surprise when Raven realized she was disappointed. Raven closed her door, and jumped when Eddie seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Eddie, you have got to stop doing that!"

"Doing what?"

"Just…popping out of nowhere! I'm gonna have a heart attack and it's gonna be your fault."

"Sorry." Eddie said, but it didn't really seem like he cared. As they walked to class, Eddie asked, "Did Chelsea put anything in your locker today?"

"No. But last night, she sent over these lovely bouquets of flowers. And the notes on them were beautiful."

"Does this mean you're gonna talk to her?"

Raven sighed, arguing with herself mentally. Should she see Chelsea? Should she talk to her? When she thought about talking to Chelsea, her stomach did weird flips and her heart picked up it's pace. She felt sick. "I don't know. You think I should?"

Eddie shrugged. "If you're not ready, then don't."

"I don't think I'm ready…but is it right to leave her waiting like this?"

"Chelsea will wait as long as you need her to, trust me." Eddie said, patting Raven on the shoulder. It was the truth. Chelsea told him those exact words on the phone last night. And the surprise they had for Raven today would surely help Raven make a concrete decision.

"Eddie, are you in on all this?" Raven asked, squinting her eyes in suspicion.

Eddie smiled at Raven and then began to walk ahead of her. He turned, walking backward into the classroom. "My lips are sealed."

"Eddie!" Raven laughed a little, stomping her foot. He was in on it all right. But she probably wasn't going to get anything useful out of him.

She walked into the classroom and her eyes immediately fell on Chelsea. She was over in the corner again; writing in her notebook again, avoiding eye contact with Raven…again. Raven's heart ached as she thought about Chelsea being alone. Alone in all of her classes; alone during lunch…Eddie was with Raven so who was with Chelsea?

Raven sat in her chair and wondered about it. Ben? Was Ben with Chelsea? Was he in on this too? A quick flash of jealously coursed through Raven as she thought about Ben and Chelsea alone together, but she got over it. Chelsea was doing a lot to win Raven back. There's no way she would be doing anything with Ben. It was pretty nice of Ben to help her out. Ben was such a nice guy. Raven wondered why they didn't get along for a while. Oh yeah…jealousy.

The teacher walked in and Raven sat up straighter in her seat, giving the sense that she wanted to pay attention, but she couldn't stop thinking about what Chelsea was doing over in that corner. What was she writing? Why was she so focused on it?

* * *

The bell for lunch rang and students ran to their lockers to get whatever it was they needed to get. Raven was about to bypass her locker but stopped when she saw a folded piece of paper taped to it. She smiled. 'I knew you wouldn't let me down," she thought excitedly. 

She pulled off the paper and unfolded it. Inside, there was a small note:

_**Go to our old English classroom. 312. Lawler's room.**_

Raven bit her lip and folded the paper. Heading over to the classroom, she wondered what lay ahead. Would it be Chelsea, wanting to talk to Raven? Or would it be something else?

Raven reached the classroom. It was vacant. How convenient. A sign saying "_**Open Me**_." was on the window. Raven looked around. Nobody was around. She sighed and opened the door. The classroom looked normal. There was a boom box on the desk with a piece of paper on top and various desks around the room had pieces of paper on them. Raven closed the door. A piece of paper on the back said, "_**Go to the radio**_."

This was weird.

Raven went to the boom box on the desk and read the paper. It said, "_**Press Play**_." So she did. This was a song she recognized.

_Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry  
You don't know how lovely you are  
I had to find you, tell you I need you  
Tell you I set you apart  
Tell me your secrets, and ask me your questions  
Oh lets go back to the start  
Running in circles, coming up tails  
Heads on a silence apart_

Raven smiled at Chris Martin's soothing voice. She could almost see Chelsea listening to this song just before choosing it to give to Raven now. She decided to walk around the room and investigate the notes on the desk. She stopped at the school desk closest to the teacher's desk. That note made her laugh. It said, "_**THE SEAT**_!" There were water drops drawn onto the paper.

She traveled down the isle to the last seat. That note said, "_**This is where you had your vision about Sam."**_

Raven remembered how excited she was about the prospect of both girls having "boyfriends" for a party. In reality, Raven's "boyfriend" didn't even know she existed and Sam turned out to be a dud.

_Nobody said it was easy  
Oh it's such a shame for us to part  
Nobody said it was easy  
No one ever said that it would be so hard_

Raven smiled a little as she realized what Chelsea was trying to do. She was trying to show Raven where it all began.

_Oh take me back to the start_

Raven walked back toward the front of the room, stopping two seats ahead of where Chelsea used to sit. The note on this desk said, _**"Sam."**_ And it had a big frown on the side.

_I was just guessing at numbers and figures  
Pulling your puzzles apart  
Questions of science, science and progress  
Do not speak as loud as my heart  
Tell me you love me, come back and haunt me  
Oh and I rush to the start  
Running in circles, chasing our tails  
Coming back as we are_

The seat in front of "Sam's" had paper on it as well. This one said:

_**This is the seat where you became my genius, my savior, and the best friend a girl could ever have**_.

Raven closed her eyes and thought about how she dressed up like a guy and fooled Sam into thinking he'd lost out on something great. He had…but Raven wouldn't realize it until later how great Chelsea actually was.

A knock on the door snatched Raven from her thoughts and she ran for it. Throwing it open and looking around wildly, Raven saw nobody. She was alone. She turned to face the door and saw an envelope with a rose attached to it taped to the door. That wasn't there before. She grabbed it and went to open it, but then something happened.

The song drifted in and out of her attentions, and this particular part of the song grabbed at her.

_Nobody said it was easy  
Oh it's such a shame for us to part  
Nobody said it was easy  
No one ever said it would be so hard_

It was hard, wasn't it? Raven thought she realized how hard it actually was for Chelsea. In truth, she wasn't even close to knowing the deep insecurities that Chelsea walked around with every day. Raven knew that she herself was strong enough to face anyone. She was always raised to be confident, proud, and sure of herself. Chelsea wasn't that type of person. She had her assertive moments, sure, but she was mostly submissive. Raven knew this for a fact because up until she realized her true feelings for Chelsea, she was always the boss.

Chelsea would do anything she said, unless she had severe reservations. But those were few and far between. Raven could get her to do almost anything. Raven had even tried to get Chelsea to tell their parents about their relationship sooner than Chelsea wanted to.

Telling their parents was undoubtedly difficult for Chelsea, since she didn't want to in the first place. Dealing with their anxieties on top of her own probably added to her stress. And the way Raven's parents had acted toward her one night, that probably didn't help matters either.

It was at that moment that Raven truly understood Chelsea's thoughts when they broke up. Chelsea's love was indeed great for Raven, but her fears and insecurities had gotten the best of her that day. Her worst nightmare had come true; everyone had found out, and her deepest fears of Bayside's reaction were coming to life. What does any person do when something their afraid of suddenly confronts them? They run. And that's what Chelsea had done. She ran. And she hurt Raven badly. But she didn't mean to.

Now, she had seen the error of her ways. And she was slowly trying to make up with Raven.

Raven blinked back a few tears as she thought of the pain they were both going through. She remembered the envelope with the rose. It was still in her hands. She opened the envelope and pulled out note inside. On the front it said, "_**Stand by the door."**_

Raven slowly walked over to the door and then followed the little arrow in the corner of the paper, directing her to flip the note over. On the other side it said:

_**This spot, the very spot you are standing in, is when I first realized how much you really meant to me. This is where it all started. This is where my love for you began. I love you.**_

_I'm going back to the start_

The song ended, the music faded away, but Raven hadn't noticed. She was too busy reading and re-reading the note over and over again, feeling her heart swell with emotion.

Raven thought that their love had shattered to pieces that day, along with her heart. But now, she could slowly feel her love for Chelsea start to come back to her. And it was a great feeling.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 21

The rest of the week carried on the same way: Chelsea stayed out of Raven's way, and sent her beautiful things to surprise her. She had received flowers, a box of candy, a romantic song, and a beautiful note that always included "I love you" at the end of it. And slowly but happily, Raven got that familiar excited feeling in her stomach like she used to whenever she thought of Chelsea. But she hadn't spoken to her yet.

It was Friday now, near the end of school, but there had been no gestures/surprises and Raven was starting to worry. Had Chelsea given up? Maybe she had waited too long to speak to her. Chelsea hadn't shown up to last period, so Raven couldn't even talk to her there. Where was she?

The bell rang, and Raven ran out of class to her locker. She opened it frantically, and her heart soared when a white envelope with a beautifully written, "Raven" fell out. She picked it up and examined it. It was thick, heavy, and longer than the regular notes for sure. She flipped open the back, ready to read the note at that moment, but bold words stared her in the face.

**_OPEN WHEN YOU GET HOME._**

Raven sighed, closing the envelope back up and putting it in her backpack. She immediately slammed her locker shut and ran for home.

When she was safely in her bedroom, Raven took out and nearly shredded the envelope to pieces, trying to get to the long note. Her watery eyes slowly moved left to right as she read the letter; she could almost hear Chelsea's voice in the back of her mind.

_**Dear Rae,**_

_**Over the past few weeks, I've done some serious thinking. I know, hard to believe right?**_

_**I've been having a hard time, but I can't possibly imagine how horrible it's been for you. You opened your heart to me, told me countless times how much you loved me, and I never returned it. It's not that I didn't want to, I just didn't know how to. Your love was so powerful, and I didn't think I could match it. I know how much it disappointed you whenever you told me you loved me and I didn't say it back. And for that I'm sorry. But you were patient. You waited for me, and when I finally said that I loved you, seeing the joy on your face made me feel happier than I've ever felt before. You do make me happy. I was never sad when I was with you.**_

_**But I was scared.**_

_**I'm not like you. I don't have the confidence and self-security you have. I'm not trying to make you feel sorry for me, but I'm trying to make you understand. I know it's wrong, but I do care about what other people think of me. And I was scared of what the school would think of us. What would happen? Would we be teased, attacked, kicked out? All of these thoughts and more were running through my mind before someone defaced our lockers. And then, it happened. Someone wrote that horrible word on our lockers, and everyone knew about us. So, I ran away from school as fast as I could…just like I ran away from you.**_

_**When you came over that day, I knew that you were hurting too. I knew that you were also scared, but you tried to make it okay. You told me that you took care of everything for me and that it would be better, but my mind was so…clouded by fear, that I didn't recognize anything but that. Fear. It took over me that day and made me do something that I never, ever, ever wanted to do. It made me break your heart. My frightened mind was telling me the best thing for us to do was to break up, and I listened.**_

_**And I lost the only good thing in my life…you.**_

_**I was selfish and stupid and wrong for hurting you, for breaking your heart. Like I said before, I never meant to do that. But I did, and I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry for hurting you this way. There isn't enough paper and ink in this world for me to write how sorry I am. And there isn't enough air on this earth for me to tell you how sorry I am. But, I hope that you can forgive me…and maybe, just maybe, you could find it in your heart to take me back. Because I do love you Raven Baxter, with every bone in my body, with every fiber of my being, with all of my heart and more. I was afraid, but I'm not afraid any more.**_

_**If you aren't afraid either, when you're finished reading this letter, meet me in the park. I want to show you something. But this is only if you're ready to see me. If you're not, I will wait. And I'll keep waiting forever. I won't give up. You told me that day that you thought our love was worth fighting for. I know this now. Our love is worth fighting for.**_

_**If you still believe it, meet me.**_

_**Forever and always yours**_

_**Chelsea.**_

Tears rolled down Raven's cheeks when she finished the letter. She didn't have to think about it for a second. She threw the letter on her bed and ran. She ran out of her house, down her street and over to the park so quickly her legs felt like jell-o and her lungs burned. When she finally reached it, she nearly collapsed.

Chelsea was standing in the middle of the park, her back facing Raven, looking up at the sky and slowly shaking her head. Raven smiled through her tears, her panting turning to normal breaths. But her heart had kept beating quickly. She was nervous, excited, happy and afraid all at the same time. She didn't know what to say or do, which was a very unusual and frightening thing.

As she cautiously walked toward the center of the park, Chelsea turned. She held another rose in her hand, so tightly in fact, that the stem was starting to bend. Raven let out her last ragged breath, slightly smiling as she made her way toward the girl she loved. The girl that broke her heart…and slowly put it back together. She could see Chelsea's shoulders rise and fall quickly, indicating that she was breathing heavily, probably from anxiety. Raven closed the distance between them, stopping a few feet from Chelsea.

"Hey." Raven said, trying her best to keep her tears at bay.

Chelsea's own eyes watered as she hoarsely whispered, "Hi."

They stood there for a moment in silence, looking deep into each other's watery eyes. Chelsea spoke up. "I'm sorry."

"I know."

"I didn't mean to--" Chelsea began, having a whole speech memorized in her head, but Raven moved to her quickly and placed a finger on her lips.

"Shh." Raven whispered as a tear escaped her eye.

And then she kissed Chelsea. She kissed her roughly and with passion. Chelsea kissed back just as roughly, letting her own tears spill on to her cheeks. Chelsea grabbed Raven's waist and pulled her closer, giving in to the want to have Raven near her at all times. Raven could taste Chelsea's salty tears on her lips. As Chelsea pulled her closer, Raven put a hand on her cheek, feeling the soft skin and the hot tears that wet thembeneath her fingertips.

When they broke apart, Chelsea smiled brightly as tears of joy streamed down her face. "I love you." She said shakily, handing the rose to Raven.

Raven took it happily, holding it close to her body as if it were the most valuable thing in the world. "I love you too."

Chelsea pulled Raven into a hug, squeezing her tightly and never wanting to let go. Raven closed her eyes and inhaled, smiling as the much missed scent of strawberries filled her nostrils and left her in that euphoric haze. It smelled sweeter than anything she had ever smelled in her life.

They hugged for quite some time, until Raven finally pulled away and wiped her tears. She laughed a little while she sniffled. "So, what did you want to show me?"

Chelsea wiped her tears as well, and frowned. "Look up."

Raven scrunched her forehead, looked upward, and gasped. In the sky, in big, bold cloud letters, it said:

"**CHELSEA LOVES RAY**."

"They ruined it. I must've told them fifty times: Raven. How hard is it to remember the name Raven?"

Raven looked back at Chelsea feeling more tears come to her eyes. "Oh Chelsea." She said breathlessly, her emotions overwhelming her.

Chelsea looked up and then back at Raven. "I wanted to show you that I wasn't afraid anymore. I don't care what other people think. They don't matter. All that matters to me…is you."

Raven didn't know what to say. She just looked at Chelsea and then looked back at the sky…at her beautiful…if slightly off exclamation of love. Before they kissed, Raven wasn't sure of how she would feel. But now, she knew. She had forgiven Chelsea and loved her with all of her heart.

"So…do you--"

"Yes." Raven replied before Chelsea could finish.

"Yeah?" Chelsea said, her voice filled with relief.

Raven nodded.

This time, Chelsea took the initiative and kissed Raven. It felt so good to have Raven's soft lips on hers once again. Chelsea didn't realize how much she actually missed Raven. When the realization hit, she wanted to hold Raven and never, ever let go. So she pulled her close again. Raven easily moved in to Chelsea's body, wrapping her arms around her waist as well.

Inside, Chelsea was jumping for joy. Raven had forgiven her and was willing to give her a second chance. She wasn't going to mess it up this time. And nothing was going to get in their way again.

At least, that's what she thought.


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

**_Author's Note: Hey, I just realized that I didn't give credit to the song from two chapters ago. It was "The Scientist" by Coldplay, if nobody knew that. I'm just, ya know, keeping myself from getting sued. All right, read on._**

* * *

Chapter 22

Michael was standing in front of his bedroom mirror, checking out how his bruises and cuts were healing. The cut above his now normal-sized eye was getting smaller, the cut on his lip was gone, and the bruises on his stomach were a yellowish-green color and not nearly as sore. He sighed, pulling on his black tank top.

He hadn't talked to Rocky or anyone else in days, and it was sort of killing him.

Rocky was the first kid to talk to him when he moved to San Francisco.

Michael had moved to San Francisco at age eight, when his real parents were deemed "unsuitable." The living arrangements here were better, but they weren't great. Grandpa Whitman was "on his deathbed" for quite a few years now, and Grandma was a little off. That didn't leave much room for a kid.

And then he met Rocky. He was in the third grade, Rocky was the school bully even back then. Rocky asked Michael for his milk money. Well, asked really wasn't the right word…

_"Hey kid, gimme your money."_

_"No."_

_"Gimme your money or I'm gonna pound you."_

_"I said no."_

Rocky punched him in the face, sending his lean eight-year-old body on to the cafeteria floor. Michael stood up quickly, already towering over Rocky at such a young age. And he punched him back. That was the one and only time Michael openly defied Rocky's wishes. And apparently, that impressed the bully.

_"Stick with me, we'll be unstoppable."_

They had been best friends ever since…if you could call it that. Michael was Rocky's second hand man, his sidekick, his "number two." Rocky showed him how to rule the school. He had power through fear, and Michael admired him.

Michael wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, he knew that. Things didn't come easy to him. School sucked. He wasn't slow enough to be put in the "special" classes, but he wasn't smart enough to keep up even in the remedial classes. Where did that leave him?

Rocky was smart. He knew everything about everyone, all of their fears, all of their weaknesses. He knew how to roam the halls at school without getting caught by the security guards; he knew how to get candy and soda out of the vending machine without paying for them. He had a fake I.D. and got everyone cigarettes and beer…and he was the only person who paid any attention to Michael.

And now Michael had gone and screwed it up because he didn't feel like bothering two girls that up until a few weeks ago, nobody even knew existed. It was his fault it all started in the first place.

_"So Mikey, see anyone you like here?" Rocky rasped, motioning a hand over the crowd of students leaving Bayside High. Their little gang of four were standing against the school building, having a smoke when Rocky just started talking out of the blue. That wasn't unusual; Rocky sure did like to talk._

_Michael scanned the masses and a wave of red hair caught his eye. He had never seen her before. He watched as she laughed with her friends, a boy and a girl. He wasn't really interested in her. She was pretty, but she wasn't gorgeous. If anything, it was her hair. That long, flowing, fiery red hair was just so…noticeable. It stood out. _

_So, he nudged his head in her direction and Rocky raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Red?"_

_Michael nodded and Rocky smirked. "I know that chick. She's in one of my classes. You like her?"_

_Michael shrugged. Rocky lightly slapped Michael's cheek, laughing. "Aw, shy? Don't worry…I'll help you out."_

_He put a cigarette in his mouth and turned. "Ladies!"_

When the redhead walked off with her friend, Michael thought that would be the end of it. She clearly wasn't interested so what did it matter? But Rocky was having a ball. He'd found fresh meat, something that didn't come around until the beginning of the school year.

That day in the lunch room, Rocky was the one who told Mike to say something to Chelsea. He really didn't want to, but if he didn't, Rocky would make fun of him for the rest of the day. So, while the girl was walking to her table, Michael stepped in front of her. What better way to grab someone's attention than to step in their path?

He could see how scared she was and he was about to leave her alone when Rocky showed up and made a scene. And when Lawler caught them and gave them detention, Rocky was mad. He blamed Chelsea and Raven, but it was really his own fault. Michael knew that, but you couldn't tell Rocky he was wrong. Nobody told Rocky he was wrong.

And those girls haven't had a chance in hell since. Once you got in Rocky's sight, you better pray for a quick end, because he wasn't going to let up until you were begging for mercy. Even then, it was iffy. Michael felt bad for them really. They were just minding their own business when he started this whole thing. And he didn't care if they were gay or not.

But Rocky seemed to…and he took joy in ruining Chelsea and Raven's lives. That was the bad part. Boys were fun to mess around with and fight with. You could kick a boy freshman's ass and the next day it would be like it never happened at all. But he never messed with girls like that. And Michael had a feeling that Rocky might just hurt Raven and Chelsea, but he hadn't acted on it yet. Michael didn't want anything to do with that. Why would he? They were just girls. He didn't know them, he didn't care about them, and he didn't like them, so why would he want to screw them up like that?

At least, that's what he thought. Now, he was starting to regret it. Wanting no part in the massacre of two girls' lives had got Michael suspended for two weeks, a beating for being so stupid, and had cost him the only person he called his friend.

Michael didn't think he could make it alone. But he didn't know how to apologize to Rocky and the gang. He had been miserable for some time and was ready to beg for forgiveness, when he heard a knock on his window.

Opening it, Michael saw Rocky standing on the sidewalk. Rocky looked up, flicking his cigarette and smiling. "Hey Mikey boy. How ya been?"

Michael shrugged.

"How ya feeling?"

"Okay."

Rocky looked around, putting his hands in his pockets. "So, you ready to come back to our group?"

Michael felt the weight of the world slid off of his shoulders. He nodded, smiling a little.

"Great. But you gotta promise that you won't go against me again."

"I promise." Michael stated, his deep voice booming.

"So you gonna help me mess up those dykes or what?"

Michael frowned. He didn't want to, but what other choice did he have? Rocky was the only friend he had. He would be lost without him. "Okay."

Rocky smiled widely. "Come on out kiddo. I'll tell you what I have in mind for them."

Michael nodded, hopping out of his window. He smiled at Rocky, who smacked him hard on the back. They walked together, discussing Rocky's evil plan.


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 23

Raven and Chelsea walked into the Baxter residence hand in hand; Raven and Chelsea had been holding hands **openly** since the park, and Chelsea didn't mind. Some people looked, and Raven knew that Chelsea noticed, but like Chelsea said earlier, they didn't matter anymore. Raven smiled, looking over at her girlfriend, happy to be with her again. Chelsea smiled back, but looked around nervously.

"Are your parents going to like, kick me out or something?"

Raven shrugged. "I don't even know if they're home yet." Looking at her watch she added, "Dad's probably still at the restaurant and Mom's picking up Cory." Then, Raven winced. "By the way, Cory knows."

"What?"

Raven shook her head. "Some kid very rudely told him I was a lesbian and he got into a fight."

"Aw. Is he okay?"

Raven nodded. "Yeah. He was kind of mad for a while."

They both sat down on the couch and Chelsea put her arm around Raven's shoulder. "Well, he was the last to know I guess." Chelsea rationalized.

"But we talked, and even though he was a little shocked that I was going out with you, he's cool with it."

Chelsea nodded. "That's good."

"Huh." Raven said, smiling, and Chelsea wrinkled her forehead with curiosity.

"What?"

"I don't know. I…I guess I thought you'd be freaking out about it."

Chelsea removed her arm from around Raven and began to pick at the nail of her index finger, looking only at her hands. "Yeah. Well, I'm not going to do that anymore. I've changed." Then, she looked at Raven. "I mean it; I'm not just saying it to get back with you. Losing you was…such an eye-opener. It made me see how important you are to me…how much I love you."

Raven nodded, her eyes glistening with fresh tears.

"That's why I'm so happy that you're going to give me a second chance. I don't know what I would've done if you didn't take me back." Chelsea said, smiling, grabbing one of Raven's hands and kissing it gently.

Raven smiled softly. "Well, you did try really hard. I mean, sky writers---"

"That messed up the message." Chelsea grumbled, pouting a little.

"But it was still beautiful and romantic. Everything you did was so beautiful. I'll never forget a single one."

Chelsea sighed. "It's a shame I had to do all of that to show you how sorry I was…and still am."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…you deserve better than that. You should've gotten the flowers and the music and the sky writers--as stupid as they may be--from the beginning. I should give you flowers to show you that I love you and I care…not because I broke your heart."

"Chels, it's okay."

"No it's not. I was horrible to you. I never showed you how much I loved you until I lost you." Chelsea rambled, working herself up. "But that's not going to happen again. From now on, you're getting flowers every day---"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there." Raven laughed, cutting Chelsea off. "Calm down Chelsea."

Chelsea opened her mouth in protest, but Raven put a hand up. She took both of Chelsea's hands in her own and said, "Look, I know you feel bad and I know that we can't pretend it never happened, but I love you. You can't continuously beat yourself up about it, I don't want you to. And you don't have to send me flowers to show me you care. Everything you've done is proof enough. Okay?"

Chelsea shook her head a little but Raven made a stern face. "Uh-uh? Okay"

Chelsea hesitated for a moment, and then sighed. Smiling a little she said, "Okay."

"Okay." Raven exhaled and then said, "But every now and then, flowers wouldn't hurt."

Chelsea smiled and looked away shyly. Raven gave her a quick peck on the lips before the front door opened. Both girls stood up as Cory walked in.

"Hey." Cory said, walking over to the girls. Cory looked from Raven to Chelsea and then back to Raven again, his eyebrows raised in question. From behind Chelsea, Raven gave him a subtle "thumbs up."

"Hi, Cory." Chelsea said lowly.

"I heard about you and my sister."

Chelsea nodded, looking at Raven and then back at Cory. There was a tense moment before Cory finally spoke.

"You know I love you baby, but you better treat my sister right…or else."

Raven's eyes widened to an almost impossible size. "Cory!" She screeched, appalled.

Chelsea heaved a sigh of relief as she nodded. "I promise. I'll treat her right."

"Good."

Then, Cory left for the kitchen. Raven turned, calling to him. "Cory, where's Mom?"

"Right here." Raven turned back to see Tanya standing in the door, sending Chelsea an icy glare.

Chelsea stomach started flipping like an acrobat and beads of sweat lined her forehead. 'Time to face the music,' she thought miserably. Hopefully, Tanya would go easy on her. That death look was sort of sending her a different message though.

Raven could feel the tension mounting in the room. She looked at Tanya, who slowly closed the front door and made her way down the small stair, walking toward Chelsea. Then she looked at Chelsea, who looked as if she were about to faint.

"So Chelsea," Tanya said almost threateningly, "How are you?"

"That depends." Chelsea meekly responded. She wanted to take a step back, but she was frozen to the spot.

"On what?" Tanya asked, moving a little closer.

"On your intentions."

Tanya raised her head a little, looking down on Chelsea. "Ah. My intentions."

Raven stood off to the side, pulling on her fingers in anxiety. What would her mother do? What would she say? What did Tanya have in store for Chelsea?

There were several moments of silence. You could cut the tension with a knife. Raven felt it pressing on her chest cavity, squeezing her heart.She wondered how Chelsea felt at this moment. She was probably dying.

After what seemed like an eternity, Tanya spoke up. "I saw the letter you wrote to Raven."

"You did?" Chelsea said, a dash of hope lacing her voice.

"Well, when I saw Raven run up to her bedroom and then run out of the house without saying two words to me, I figured something was up. So I went upstairs and found the letter." Tanya recalled, looking at Raven and then back at Chelsea. "And I hope you meant every word you wrote."

"I do, honestly." Chelsea answered quickly.

Tanya looked Chelsea up and down. Did she mean it? Could she trust her with her daughter? Could she be sure that Chelsea wouldn't hurt Raven again?

Chelsea cast a nervous sideways glance at Raven, who frowned. Raven stepped forward, clearing her throat. "I believe Chels Mom. I think she means it."

Chelsea nodded wildly. "Every word, Mrs. Baxter."

Tanya squinted. "Raven, are you sure about this?"

Raven smiled. "Did you see the message?"

Tanya shook her head. "What message?"

Raven grabbed Tanya's arm and led her to the front door, opening it and pointing to the sky. "Look."

Tanya moved a hand to above her eyebrows, shielding her eyes from the sun. She looked to Raven. "Who's Ray?" She asked, looking back into the sky.

"That's me."

Tanya snapped her head towards Raven and then peered in at Chelsea, who hadn't moved. She turned to Raven and whispered. "What?"

"Yeah, well…the stupid sky writer messed it up, but that's me. That's what Chelsea wanted me to go to the park. You can see it much better there. Mom, she really is sorry and she really does love me. I know it. She just got scared."

"She hurt you Raven. Can you be sure she won't do it again?"

"I can't be a hundred percent sure, but can anyone in a relationship be that sure? When you were dating Dad you guys broke up three times before you got married. And you got back together each time. Why is this different?"

Tanya looked back in at Chelsea. She still hadn't moved, but she was playing with the rings on her fingers. She sighed. "It's not different. I just don't want you to get hurt again."

"I know Mom. I'll be careful. I promise."

"There's no such thing as careful when you're in love."

"Yeah well…" Raven trailed off, not sure how to respond.

Tanya looked up at the sky one more time before walking back inside. Raven followed, closing the door behind her. Chelsea looked up at Tanya, afraid of what she had to say.

"If Raven forgives you…then I can forgive you too."

"Really?" Chelsea cried in relief.

Tanya nodded. "But you hurt her again and so help me I'll--" Tanya started but she was cut off unexpectedly when Chelsea wrapped her in a big hug.

"Thank you so much Mrs. B!" Chelsea squealed.

"Oh-oh-Okay Chelsea. All right." Tanya half-laughed and Chelsea let go.

"Sorry."

"It's all right." Tanya said, straightening her clothes out.

Raven walked forward and grabbed Chelsea's hand. Chelsea looked at her, grinningwidely. Tanya shook her head. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."

"Thanks Mom." Raven said warmly and Tanya smiled.

Then she left.

Chelsea collapsed on to the living room couch. "Oh my God. I thought she was going to kill me!"

"I thought so too."

Chelsea let out a long, slow breath, shaking her head in a daze. Raven squeezed her hand, inwardly laughing at Chelsea's expression. Then, Chelsea gasped and sat up straighter. "Oh, what about your father!"

"What about him?"

"Rae, what's he going to do?"

Raven shrugged. "I don't know. But he's staying late because he had to fire a waitress and hire a new one, so he has to train her. So, I don't think you'll have to face him just yet. And don't worry. My mom will soften him up before you see him."

"All right." Chelsea said. She knew she had to face both parents. It was really scary, but she had to do it to show Raven how committed she was this time.

"So, what do you want to do now?"

"Uh…get reacquainted with my girl." Raven said devilishly, standing up and pulling Chelsea up too.

"But Rae, your mother!" Chelsea whispered.

"Don't worry. We have like an hour before she'll come to check up on us. C'mon, I missed you!"

"I missed you too."

"So, what are we waiting for!" Raven exclaimed quietly. She didn't want her mother to hear that.

Giggling, Raven pulled Chelsea as they ran up the stairs to Raven's bedroom.


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 24

Victor came home later that night tired, cranky, and ready to sleep. He shuffled into the kitchen and found Tanya sitting at the table going over this month's bills. "Oh man, my day was a nightmare. Are there no quality waitresses in the world anymore?"

Tanya angled her head in Victor's direction, but her eyes never left the checkbook. "Bad day?"

"The worst day of my life. I fired Brittney because she was rude to the customers and we were getting complaints. Now, I think I'd beg Brittney to come back if I knew where she was. Sarah, the new waitress is just fine with the customers…when she's not breaking dishes and mixing up the orders."

"I'm sorry Victor." Tanya mumbled and Victor sat across from her at the table.

"Yeah well…" Victor sighed. There was nothing he could do about it now. "So, how's Rae doing?"

This time, Tanya looked up from the checkbook and Victor had a sinking feeling that some bad news was coming his way. "Well…something happened today."

"What? What is it? Did something happen at school?" Victor asked quickly, panicking.

"No." Tanya shook her head slowly. "It's about Chelsea. Raven and Chelsea are a couple again."

"What? When did this happen?"

"Today. Chelsea wrote Raven a very lovely letter, apologizing for hurting our daughter and promising never to do it again."

"And that makes it all okay? One letter?" Victor said, a little shocked that he was so angry at Chelsea.

"No. There was other stuff."

"Like what?"

"Well, Raven told me that Chelsea made her a few c.d.'s, sent over some rather large bouquets of flowers, a box of candy, and wrote quite a few apology letters, including the one today."

Victor frowned, losing himself in thought.

"And then there's the sky message--"

"What?" Victor nearly shouted in surprise. Chelsea had really gone over the top.

Tanya sighed,resting her chin on her hand. "Raven thinks Chelsea changed. That she won't hurt her again."

"What do you think?"

"I…I think Chelsea deserves another chance. That's not easy for me to say, because she hurt our baby, but she's really making an effort Victor. And I think she really can change." Tanya said, getting up and gathering all of the bills. She walked over to the drawer they kept that stuff in and put all the paper away.

Victor exhaled deeply, leaning back against the chair and rubbing his face with his hands. This was all happening so quickly…suddenly, he wished he was back at work with the horrible waitress. Broken glass he could clean up, this whole situation was one hell of a mess.

"What's on your mind?" Tanya inquired, tired of just watching Victor rub his face.

Victor shrugged. He was tired and upset from before, now he felt even worse. He didn't need this right now.

So, he snapped.

"I don't know. I don't know what to do with this whole thing. I didn't like it from the start. Raven and Chelsea going out…It's just wrong--"

"Victor calm down--"

"What happened to Raven? Where did she go? Where did our baby go? She's gone Tanya. And she left this stranger in her place."

"Victor--"

"I was never okay with Raven dating boys. What father is? But girls Tanya? Girls! When did that happen? All of a sudden our daughter's a lesbian? It's not right."

"Victor--" Tanya warned a little louder, but it didn't stop his rant.

Victor stood up, beginning to pace. "No. It's not right and it's not natural. And God forgive me for saying this, but I was relieved when Chelsea broke it off."

Tanya looked at her husband as if he were a lunatic. Where was all of this coming from? She was about to grab him and shake him when a very loud voice sounded off from behind her.

"So, is that what you think of me?"

Victor stopped his rant and Tanya turned around to see a very hurt Raven standing in the kitchen doorway. Raven hustled in to the kitchen, stopping just a few feet of her parents.

"Rae, sweetie--" Victor began but Raven cut him off.

"You think it's wrong? Unnatural? What about me being happy dad? Remember when you said you wanted me to be happy?"

"Try to understand--"

"Understand what? That my father would rather see me miserable if it meant not being a lesbian?" Tears burned Raven's eyes. How could her own parent think this way?

"No!" Victor shouted, shaking his head. "It's just so sudden! How could you possibly go from liking guys to liking girls in a matter of months!"

"**One** girl dad. One. Chelsea. She is the only girl that I'll ever love."

"Okay, I think we all need to just calm down here." Tanya said, but nobody listened.

"You can't love Chelsea. You're young, you don't know what love is yet."

"I do know."

"No you don't. Love…love grows over time, it doesn't just pop out of nowhere--"

"It didn't! I have loved Chelsea for quite some time now! I was in love with her before she knew she was in love with me. I know love. It's hard and it hurts and you think it'll kill you, but then you realize how wonderful and special it is, and how happy you are to show it. It takes time and patience and you have to work at it, but it's all worth it. I know what love is. Don't tell me I don't."

Both Victor and Tanya stared at Raven as hot tears coursed down her cheeks.

"How could you do this to me?"

"Raven, I--"

"You said you'd accept it! You said you would try…where did all that go?"

"Raven, please, calm down. You too Victor." Tanya pleaded to no avail.

"I am trying! You-you think it's easy for me? Easy for your mother?"

"Leave me out of this."

Raven sighed, wiping her tears. "I-I know it isn't easy for you, but do you think it's easy for me? Huh? Having to deal with all of this? There's you…Mr. and Mrs. Daniels, the whole school and everyone else in San Francisco. And later on, wherever we go, there are going to be people who think it's 'wrong and unnatural.' All you and Mom have to do is be there for me Daddy. Me and Chelsea have to go through everything else."

Tanya looked at Victor who seemed to be battling within himself. Victor looked at Raven but didn't say anything. Raven sighed, biting her lip and shaking her head.

"If you can't accept me for who I am…" Raven didn't know how to finish the sentence, because she didn't know what she would do if her father couldn't get over this.

Tanya put a comforting hand on Raven's shoulder, but she shrugged it off. Then, she stormed out of the kitchen. Tanya turned to Victor. "What in God's name were you thinking?"

"I don't know."

"You're tired Victor. Go to bed." Tanya said shortly and then walked out of the kitchen.

"Ta-Tanya. Tanya wait." Victor called to her, but she didn't turn around. Sitting back down and putting his face in his hands, Victor cursed himself over and over again. Why couldn't he accept it? He didn't know, but seeing the pain in his daughter's eyes was enough to make him think about it.

* * *

Tanya gently knocked on Raven's bedroom door. "Rae, sweetie, can I come in?"

A muffled "yeah" came from the inside and Tanya opened the door. Raven was sitting Indian-style on her bed, hugging a pillow. She wasn't crying, but she looked heart-breakingly sad. Tanya cautiously made her way to Raven's bed and sat down on the edge by her daughter, smiling a little and pushing a stray hair out of Raven's eyes.

"How are you doing?"

"Not so good."

"Yeah." Tanya exhaled. After a beat she said, "Your father had a rough day at work. He was tired. I don't think he knew exactly what he was saying."

"Yes he did. He thought all those things from the start. He just couldn't hold them in anymore."

"Give your dad some time Raven. It's hard for him. Harder than it is for me."

"Do you think that way too? You think it's 'unnatural?'"

"No honey. But your father and I are different people."

Raven nodded, understanding. "I just…want him to see things like I see them."

"I'm sure your father wants to. And he will honey. We just have to give him some time, that's all."

Raven sighed and nodded. She didn't expect her parents to be okay with it all of a sudden, but she certainly didn't know her father felt like that. It shocked and hurt her. Why did things have to go bad the second she thought things were looking up? She tossed the pillow aside and hugged her mother. "Thanks Mom."

"Anytime baby girl. Don't worry, it'll all be okay."

"I hope so."

They broke apart and Tanya stood up. "Well, it's late. You should try to get some sleep."

"All right. Night."

Tanya kissed Raven on the forehead and said, "Good night" before leaving. Raven lay down on her bed and closed her eyes, blowing out tense, nervous air.

"Why can't I have just one day of happiness? Just one day?"

Suddenly, the phone rang.

Rolling her eyes, sitting up and grabbing the phone, Raven sighed loudly before saying, "Hello?"

"Raven." It was Chelsea.

Raven felt her heart swell as she sat back down on the bed. "Oh hey. What's going on?"

"Nothing much. I just wanted to call you."

"Oh."

"Something wrong?" Chelsea asked, trying to sound concerned, but Raven could tell she was afraid of Raven having second thoughts.

"It's just…nothing. Never mind." Raven knew the last thing Chelsea needed was to know that Victor didn't want them together from the start.

"You know you can tell me anything."

"I know. It's just a small problem, nothing I can't handle. You don't have to worry about it."

"Are you sure?"

Raven smiled a little. "I'm sure."

There was silence on the other end; Raven figured Chelsea was probably debating whether she should keep asking or move on.

She chose to move on. "So, I was thinking we could go out tomorrow, my treat."

"Oh really? Where to?"

"You pick. Anything you want."

"Hmm…I'll have to think about it."

"Well, no rush. Whatever you want to do is fine."

"I think I just want to spend some time alone with you."

"I'm up for that." Chelsea replied with a hint of mischief in her voice. "But where?"

"Well, Mom has a study group and Dad's working overtime at the restaurant, so they won't be home for a while. And I think I can get Cory over to William's house…for the right price. That means I'll be all alone in this big ole house for most of the night."

"Really?"

"All alone…"

"How--"

"All night."

"Convenient."

"Yes it is."

"What time should I be there?"

"Oh, I dunno…eight?"

"Eight it is."

"Great."

Raven waited a beat before saying, "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow night then."

"Yeah."

"Good night."

"Night Rae. I love you."

Raven closed her eyes, grinning. "I love you too."

"Good night."

"Night." Then, Raven hung up.


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 25

"Cory, will you hurry up and get out of here!" Raven yelled up the stairs. "Chelsea is going to be here any minute!"

Cory shuffled down the stairs, throwing on a jacket. "All right, jeeze." Then, Cory looked at his watch. "Raven, it's only seven."

"I have got stuff to do brat! Get a move on!"

Cory laughed a little and shook his head, watching Raven running around the living room in a cleaning frenzy, trying to dust and polish everything at once. "You remember the deal?"

"Yeah, yeah." Raven rolled her eyes and then ran to the door, opening it. "Clean your room for a month. I got it. Now will you get out?"

"Okay, I'm going. But I have to be back by eleven, you know that."

"Shoo!" Raven shouted, pushing him out of the house and slamming the door. She could hear him laughing at her from outside, but she didn't have time to think about it. Looking at her watch, Raven screamed. "Oh God! I've got to get ready!"

She ran upstairs to her bedroom. Hopefully, she would have enough time.

* * *

At eight fifteen, Chelsea walked up the stairs to the Baxter household, dressed in a nice pair of khaki's and a form-fitting black sweater. She had a bouquet of flowers in her hand; she knew Raven didn't want flowers all the time, but tonight was a special occasion. Straightening her shirt and checking her breath one last time, Chelsea breathed deeply and then pushed the doorbell.

The loud rings echoed through the house before Chelsea heard a faint, "its open!" from inside. Cautiously opening the door, Chelsea walked in. The living room was dimly lit, and faint music played from the stereo. But Raven was nowhere in sight. "Rae?" Chelsea called out.

"In the kitchen." Came Raven's voice from behind the closed kitchen doors.

Chelsea closed the front door and made her way to the kitchen, pausing slightly before opening the doors. When she did, she gasped. The kitchen was also dark, but two candles on the very nicely made up kitchen table lit up the room. Nice China and shiny silverware sparkled on the dark maroon tablecloth. A big bowl of Chelsea's favorite, macaroni and cheese, sat between the dishes. Chelsea smiled.

"You like it?" A voice coming from the left asked her.

Chelsea turned and gasped again. Raven was standing at the foot of the kitchen stairs, looking stunning in a long, satiny red dress that hugged all of the right curves. Her hair was done up in a nice pony-tail with a red bow around it. Chelsea blinked rapidly a few times, fighting to catch her breath.

Raven shifted uncomfortably, waiting for Chelsea to respond. "What? Is there something wrong with the dress?" She asked, looking down and examining herself.

Chelsea shook her head, finally finding her voice. "No. You…you look amazing." She said breathlessly.

Raven smiled and sauntered over to her girlfriend. "Thank you." Looking at the flowers in Chelsea's hand, she raised her eyebrows and said, "Are these for me?"

Chelsea looked at the flowers as if they suddenly appeared in her hand. "O-Oh! Yeah." She stammered, clumsily handing the flowers to Raven. She was completely love struck; she couldn't believe how well the dress complimented Raven. Suddenly, she felt stupid for wearing her own outfit.

Raven could feel her face grow hot. She wanted some sort of reaction from Chelsea; she didn't expect it to be so intense. She liked it though. It made her feel beautiful.

Putting the flowers in a vase and setting them on the counter, Raven walked over to the table. "So, shall we?"

Chelsea nodded. As they sat down, she laughed nervously and said, "I feel a little underdressed."

"Don't be silly girl, you look fantastic. Besides, I just wanted to look nice for you. It was a surprise."

"Well, everything looks great…especially you." Chelsea said as Raven served her a spoonful of dinner. She took a small fork full and smiled. "Mmmm. This is good."

"It is your favorite." Raven said, taking her own fork full. "So, what do you think of all this? Good idea?"

Putting her fork down and wiping her mouth, Chelsea stood up as best as she could from her seat at the table and said, "C'mere." Raven did the same and they kissed. It was short but sweet. "Great idea. Perfect." Chelsea said, grinning and they sat back down to finish their meal.

* * *

Chelsea sat down on the couch as Raven went to the television. "So, what's the movie again?"

"The Mummy"

"Aw Rae, are you kidding? We've seen that like twenty times already."

"Did I say we'd be watching it?" Raven said, turning and smiling devilishly at Chelsea.

Chelsea seemed to stare off into space for a moment, thinking about it. Then, a wide grin spread across her face. "No…no you didn't."

Raven and Chelsea laughed as Raven scooted over to the couch and jumped on to it right next to Chelsea. The movie started and Raven nestled in close to Chelsea, who wrapped an arm around her. Their eyes met, and Raven leaned in for a kiss. She brushed her lips up against Chelsea's softly at first, teasing her. Chelsea moved forward and kissed Raven hard, in an almost animalistic fashion. They continued their rough but passionate kisses; Raven running a hand through the back of Chelsea's hair as Chelsea grabbed at Raven's waist, giving it a playful squeeze.

Raven moved closer and closer until she was sitting across Chelsea's lap, her arms draped around the girl's neck, but they didn't stop kissing. Raven only pulled back when she felt Chelsea's hand slide down her right thigh. Chelsea opened her eyes, puzzled, and then realized what she had done.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--"

Raven shook her head. "No. No it's okay. It was fine. Just took me by surprise that's all."

"I won't do it aga--"

"Chelsea. It's okay. Besides…I kind of liked it." Raven leaned in and whispered, smiling as she touched foreheads with Chelsea.

"Yeah?" Chelsea asked, raising her eyebrows.

"A huh." Raven responded and then kissed Chelsea again.

The girls made out for a while, barely coming up for air, when the movie credits started to roll.

"Shouldn't…we…find…another…movie?" Chelsea asked between short kisses.

"Wait." Raven managed to say as they started up again.

The television glowed blue upon them when Raven reluctantly broke away. Chelsea stood up, stretching a little. "You want a soda?" She asked Raven, who was taking out the movie and going to the shelf for another one.

"Yeah."

Chelsea scooted over to Raven quickly and planted one last kiss on her lips. "For the road." She said, smiling sheepishly. Raven rolled her eyes.

Chelsea left for the kitchen as Raven bent down, squinting her eyes and pursing her lips as she searched for another movie.

"Ah perfec--" Raven was about to say aloud to herself when suddenly, she was pulled into a vision.

_**"…teach you to mess with Rocky Collera."**_

_**"Rock what did you do!" A voice called from behind her…but she couldn't see who.**_

_**All she could see was her hand. Four fingers were covered in blood.**_

Raven gasped as the vision ended. Chelsea was standing next to her with the sodas, looking very concerned. Raven nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Whoa Rae! It's just me!" Chelsea shouted, getting scared herself. "Are you okay?"

Raven breathed heavily. "Yeah I'm fine. I had a vision…" She trailed off, visibly shaken.

"A vision? Wow, it's been a while since you had one of those. What did you see?"

Raven looked at Chelsea. Should she tell her what she saw? That would ruin the night, which was going really well. No. She wouldn't tell Chelsea anything and make her worry. "Uh-I-I'm not sure. I-I couldn't really make it out."

"Hmmm. That's weird." Chelsea said, suspicious. Raven seemed like she was holding back.

"Yeah, it was nothing." Raven lied as best as she could. She even added a fake smile in hopes that it would ease Chelsea's concern.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. It's fine. Let's just…watch another movie okay?" Raven said, turning away from Chelsea and grabbing the movie she had intended to get in the first place.

"All right." Chelsea said slowly, still a little unsure. But, she gave up. Raven wasn't going to tell her now. She would get it out of her later. "So, what are we watching now?"

Raven turned, holding the movie between her hands so Chelsea could see the title. "The Mummy Returns."

"Raven." Chelsea whined, laughing a little.

"I don't know why you're complaining. You loved this one."

"I did not."

"Sure, sure." Raven said and then, in her worst Chelsea impersonation she said, "Oh Brendan, you're so sexy. You're so hot!"

"Rae!" Chelsea yelled, laughing.

"Girl, you had a major crush on this dude, you can't deny it!" Raven teased as they headed back toward the couch. "I caught you writing, 'Mrs. Chelsea Frasier' on your notebook."

"Shut up." Chelsea said, rolling her eyes as she sat back down on the couch.

Raven giggled as she popped the movie in the VCR and then took her position on Chelsea's lap again. Chelsea slapped Raven's knee and they laughed. And then she said, "Well…that was before you. You're the only one I love now."

"You better." Raven said with faux authority.

"Oh Raven…you're so sexy." Chelsea smiled, kissing Raven. "You're so hot!"

"Damn right." Raven muffled between a kiss, wrapping her arms around Chelsea's neck again.

It wasn't long before they were making out again, but every once in a while, Raven would see her vision in her mind. And it frightenened her.


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 26

That Monday, Raven was at her locker, feeling happier than she had in a while. Sure, the vision was a little unnerving, but Raven knew that if it was possible, she could prevent anything from happening. She just had to avoid Rocky and his gang at all costs. She had told Eddie about it and he very courageously offered to protect her and Chelsea in any way possible. Raven had also made him promise not to say a word to Chelsea.

"Hey Rae!" Eddie called from across the hallway and Raven closed her locked and leaned against it. Eddie and Chantel walked toward her. "What's up? Where's Chelsea?"

"I don't think she's here yet." Raven replied.

"I heard you guys got back together." Chantel said, smiling. "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks Chantel."

Chantel smiled and then looked at her watch. "I have to go to my locker before class. I'll see you in a little bit." She said, kissing Eddie quickly on the lips.

"Okay baby, I'll see you soon." Eddie said to her as she walked away, and then turned to Raven. "So, did you tell Chelsea yet?"

Raven shook her head. "No, and I'm not going to. Not if I don't have to."

"Okay…we just have to watch out for Rocky. The gang's back tomorrow…and something tells me he's not happy with you."

"Yeah well, I'm not exchanging salon tips with him either if you know what I mean."

Eddie shook his head. "I'm serious Rae. You gotta be careful. You and Chelsea both."

"What?" A voice called from behind him and Eddie cringed. Raven's eye went wide.

It was Chelsea. She was opening her locker and wasn't looking at them. There was a good chance she only heard the tail end of Eddie's warning.

"Huh?" Raven said quickly.

"You and me what?" Chelsea asked, only half paying attention as she searched her locker for something.

"What?" Eddie said nervously.

"I heard my name. What's going on?" Chelsea said, closing her locker and finally turning all of her attentions to her friends.

"I-I was just telling Raven how great it is now that you guys are back together." Eddie stammered and Raven smiled.

"Yes it is." Raven said, playfully sauntering over to Chelsea and kissing her softly on the mouth.

Chelsea blushed madly, aware of the few passing students who looked at them with either interest or disgust. A few of the male students looked a little more interested than Chelsea wanted them to be. But she pushed those feelings away and let herself get lost in the happiness she always felt when Raven was near.

When the girls broke apart Raven intertwined her fingers with Chelsea's and rested her head on her shoulder, sighing loudly in contentment. Chelsea gave Raven's hand a little squeeze, resting her head on Raven's.

Eddie, who was a little surprised by the sudden kiss, turned away and hadn't looked back. He wasn't sure if they wanted to be alone or not, so he just stood there with his hands in his pockets, trying to focus his attentions elsewhere. He only looked back when Raven laughed.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked and he nodded.

"Yeah."

"Well, now you know how I felt all those times I found you and Chantel making out by my locker."

"Thanks a lot." Eddie said flatly, rolling his eyes.

Then the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class.

* * *

Chelsea was standing by her locker waiting for Raven, who needed to speak to their English teacher about something, when Ben came running up to her.

"Chelsea! I have to talk to you!" He rasped, panting heavily, like he had just run the four-minute mile.

Chelsea grabbed Ben by the shoulders. "Hey, hey! Calm down. Breathe Ben." She made him inhale and exhale several times before allowing him to speak. "All right, what's wrong?"

"I had a vision. You and Raven are in trouble."

"What?" Chelsea asked, panicking. "Wh-what did you see?"

Ben shook his head. "I didn't see anything. My vision was really blurry. There was so much movement…it was like I was spinning around or something."

"Then how do you know we're in trouble?"

"Because I could hear Raven screaming your name." Ben said softly, leaning up against the lockers as the severity of his vision finally hit him.

Chelsea leaned up against the lockers too, looking at the floor as she lost herself in nervous thought. After a few moments, she looked up at Ben. "What are we going to do?"

Ben shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know. Should we tell Raven?"

Chelsea thought about it. They had just started finding one another again. Raven was happy again. Chelsea didn't want to ruin it with this vision. No. She couldn't let anything ruin it again. She shook her head. "No. Not yet."

"But--" Ben began to protest, but Chelsea put a hand up.

"I know, I know. We should tell, but we can't just yet. Rae and I…we're doing so great right now. I can't have anything mess that up. We can change your vision like we change hers. It doesn't have to come true."

"But I didn't even see what was happening…or when it was going to happen."

"That's okay. We'll just have to be extra careful, that's all."

Ben shook his head. "I don't know Chelsea. Something really bad could happen to one or both of you. Don't you think Raven has the right to know about it?"

"Ben, look. If I have to, I'll tell Rae, okay? But for now, not a word, got it?"

Ben reluctantly agreed. "Okay, but I don't think that's a good idea."

Chelsea's eyes widened. "Rae's coming, conversation over." She whispered just as Raven approached them.

"Hey Ben, long time no see." Raven greeted merrily.

Ben smiled as best as he could. "Hi. I heard the good news. Congratulations."

"Thanks." Raven said, smiling and moving toward Chelsea. "It feels so great to have my girl back." She kissed Chelsea quickly on the lips and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Ditto." Chelsea half-laughed.

The three stood there for a moment before Raven said, "I'm starving. What's for lunch today?"

"Mystery meat Monday." Chelsea sighed. "Thank God I'm a vegetarian."

Raven scrunched her face in disgust. "I hate mystery meat Monday. I think…from now on, I'm a vegetarian every Monday."

"Wow, Rae, way to commit." Chelsea replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Raven and Chelsea began walking toward the cafeteria, but then Chelsea turned. "Ben, you coming?"

"You girls go ahead." Ben said, backing away from them. "I'll see you in there."

Raven seemed to accept that answer, but Chelsea stood there, glaring at him for a few more seconds before walking off.

Ben turned the corner and leaned up against the lockers again. He closed his eyes, wincing as Raven's voice filled his head again.

_"CHELSEA!"_

* * *

**_Author's Note: Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I have a lot of schoolwork and for the past few days I haven't been feeling all that well, so it might take a while for the next update. I promise that I will try my best though. Sorry guys. _**


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 27

Raven cautiously walked into school, looking around nervously as she made her way to her locker. Shaking off the remaining drops of water from her umbrella, she sighed. It was really coming down outside, the perfect setting for a day like today….the worst day ever.

Today was the day that Rocky and his gang came back to school and she was sure that whatever was going on in her vision would happen some time in the next couple of hours. It was a sinking feeling she had all morning. Rocky and crew weren't anywhere in sight at the moment and after a few more hallway scans, Raven decided it was safe.

She normally wouldn't be too afraid of Rocky, but her vision was frightening. Whatever it was that he was going to do, it was going to draw blood; yes, it was blood on her fingers that she saw, she was sure of it. Blood meant pain…blood was very, very scary.

Thunder cracked through the sky outside and made Raven inadvertently jump. She looked over to Chelsea's locker; Chelsea hadn't come to school yet. It was getting close to first period; maybe Chelsea was smart and took a day off. Raven couldn't afford to, having a few too many sick days under her belt already.

Raven was shaking more water from the umbrella and getting read to wrap the tie around it when a voice called out from behind her, making her scream.

"Hey Rae!"

Raven turned and accidentally pushed the button on the handle, opening up the umbrella, hitting and wetting whoever it was that called out. Closing the umbrella, Raven winced in regret as a now wet and irritated Eddie glared at her, wiping his shirt. "I'm so sorry." Raven said breathlessly. "I'm just a little jumpy today."

Eddie sighed. "It's all right. Today's the day…I'd be scared too."

"You know, I almost wish that Rocky would just do whatever it is he's planning to do so I can move on."

"Raven, you know that's not gonna happen. I won't let that happen." Eddie said, standing up straighter, trying to make himself look tough. "If I have to…" Eddie trailed off, and his body began to deflate as fear crept up on him. "I'll…fight Rocky."

Raven laughed a little, rolling her eyes. "Eddie, come on, when's the last time you fought somebody? Come to think of it, when have you ever fought anyone?"

"Jimmy Bruno." Eddie said, raising his chin high in victory.

Raven closed her locker and gave Eddie that are-you-serious look. "That was in the third grade and if I remember it correctly…he kicked your butt."

The bell rang, and they started for class.

Eddie slouched down again, shrugging. "I tried."

"It's a really sweet offer, thanks." Raven smiled, patting Eddie on the back. If nothing else, he knew how to cheer her up.

* * *

Raven was nearly sleeping as Mr. Donavon droned on and on about some place, somewhere, way back when in history. She thought her arm was about to give out from underneath her chin and her head was going to hit the desk when the classroom door opened and a mildly soaked Chelsea entered. Raven perked up almost immediately; happy to see Chelsea, but the girl didn't look too happy to be there. 

Mr. Donavon turned around and sighed. "You're late Ms. Daniels. You've missed almost half of the class."

"I know and I'm very sorry about that sir. I promise that it won't happen again." Chelsea said as she rushed over to her seat and sat down immediately. Mr. Donavon, however, wasn't finished with her just yet.

"You're right Ms. Daniels, it won't happen again, because detention this afternoon will give you some time to think about ways in which you can get to school on time."

"What?" Chelsea whined. "No offense sir, but this is the first time I've been late this year!"

Mr. Donavon sighed. "I know. It's the new school policy; we're trying to crack down on tardiness by stopping it before it gets out of control." He smiled obnoxiously. "Congratulations Ms. Daniels, you are the very first victim of this policy." Mr. Donavon then continued with his lesson.

"I'm honored." Chelsea muttered almost inaudibly, taking her notebook out, plopping it on the desk and sighing. It wasn't even the middle of the morning and her day had gone from just plain bad to downright horrible.

Raven looked at Chelsea, wrinkling her forehead in sympathy and concern. Chelsea finally looked her way, giving Raven the best smile she could muster at the moment. "You okay?" Raven mouthed, resting her head on her chin.

Chelsea nodded and shrugged, her wet hair falling around her face. "After." She mouthed back and Raven blew her a kiss. She smiled a little easier, winking at Raven.

Then, both girls turned their attentions to Mr. Donavon…well, the most attention they could give a history teacher.

* * *

"Well, I hope these last two weeks have been somewhat of a wake-up call for all of you. I know that it's certainly help me realize some things." Mr. Lawler said, sitting back in his leather chair. "For one thing, I learned that when you four aren't around, my blood pressure drops significantly."

Rocky sighed from his chair in front of Lawler's desk, nodding. "We've had some time to think things over too. Right guys?"

Michael, who was sitting next to Rocky in the other chair, his chin resting on his chest as he slouched, grunted. Tyrone nodded and Deckland said, "'at's right."

"That's good." Lawler said, seeing right through all four of them. He sat up. "Well, then I guess you all know why you're here today."

"Actually, we don't sir…and we got class." Rocky answered calmly, his usually raspy voice coming out smoother.

"Don't worry; you all are excused from your first period class. If what you say is true, Mr. Collera, then there shouldn't be any problems, but for everyone's sake here this morning, a warning to all of you. If I see or hear of any one of you harassing Miss Baxter or Miss Daniels, you will be expelled. Understand?"

Mr. Lawler sat tensely in his chair, waiting for a response. There were several moments of silence that did not sit well with him at all. Finally, Rocky spoke up. "Understood sir."

The rest of the gang agreed in one form or another, but that didn't satisfy Lawler in the least. What else could he do though? He warned them and he would keep an eye on them, but there were other duties that had to be fulfilled, other demands that had to be met. It would have to do for now. He eyed each and every one of them individually before sitting back in his chair. "That'll be all then. Good day boys."

"As always, it's been a blast." Rocky quipped, standing up and going to leave.

The four delinquents left the office. They had ten minutes before class would end and the hallways would fill.

"Well, that it for all that." Michael sighed; trying to sound disappointed, but was really relieved.

"Whaddaya mean?" Rocky hissed as they walked toward the school entrance.

"You heard Lawler, he'll expel us. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be expelled man." Michael said, walking ahead of Rocky.

Rocky sped up. "Whoa man, chill. We ain't gonna get expelled."

"How do you know?"

"Because we ain't gonna get caught…and they won't say a word."

"You don't know that Rock."

"Ya worry too much Mike." Deckland said from behind him and Michael turned. "If Rock says we ain't getten caught, we ain't getten caught."

Tyrone nodded silently. Michael looked at each of them but still shook his head. "Why wouldn't they tell on us?"

"Don't worry about it Mikey. We got them. Those dykes ain't gonna know what hit 'em." Rocky hissed, rubbing his hands together menacingly.

* * *

"So, what happened?" Raven asked Chelsea as they walked toward their lockers.

"First, I my alarm didn't go off, so I got up late. Then, when I was running around, trying to get ready and get all my stuff together, I lost my English report, so I had to print out another one. I didn't even eat breakfast cause I was rushing out of the house…and on the way to school my umbrella broke so I got wet." Chelsea whined. "And now I have detention. Can this day get any worse?"

Raven wrapped her arm around Chelsea and gave her a tight but comforting squeeze.

Out of the corner of her eye, Chelsea saw them. All four boys standing across the hall, leaning up against some lockers. She groaned, looking up at the ceiling and then at Raven. "Oh you have got to be kidding me!"

"Yep." Raven exhaled, linking arms with Chelsea as they walked. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't take her eyes off of Rocky, who hadn't seen them yet. "They're back."

"Why did I get out of bed this morning?"

"Because you wanted to see me." Raven answered, resting her head on Chelsea's shoulder, trying to make Chelsea feel even a little bit better.

Chelsea didn't answer. She was thinking about Ben's vision. Should she tell Raven? Rocky and his gang could be the cause of all the trouble. Maybe she should say something, just to warn Raven…no. She couldn't really be sure that Ben's vision had anything to do with Rocky. Until it was certain, she wouldn't say anything.

"…okay?"

"What?" Chelsea said, snapping her head toward Raven, who was looking at her with concern.

"Are you okay? You zoned out."

"I'm sorry." Chelsea sighed, opening her locker. "It's just a really bad day."

Raven nodded, opening her locker and grabbing the stuff she needed. She didn't take her eyes off of Chelsea the whole time. Should she tell Chelsea about her vision? Chelsea was already having a bad day. Whatever Rocky was going to do would make it worse. If she could avoid it though, the vision wouldn't come true. Raven decided she wouldn't tell Chelsea until it was absolutely necessary.

* * *

At Lunch, Raven skipped over to Chelsea, Eddie and Chantel, who were already sitting at a table, waiting for her. "Guess whose got detention!" She practically sang.

"Besides me?" Chelsea asked flatly.

"Me!" Raven squealed, sitting next to the redhead.

"What?" Eddie said, shaking his head. "How did you get detention?"

"Well, I didn't get dressed for gym and apparently, doing that more than two times gets me detention!" Raven exclaimed like she had just gotten an 'A' on a test or won a shopping spree.

"Great, now we both have detention." Chelsea said, a little less thrilled about the whole thing.

"Yeah, but we'll be together."

"That's true." Chelsea nodded, smiling a little and planting a kiss on Raven's lips. "Thank you."

Eddie silently cursed, shaking his head. How was he supposed to watch out for Raven and Chelsea if they were both in detention? He would just have to get detention too.

Then, Ben arrived, plopping down at the table. "Hey guys."

"Hey Ben, what's up?" Chelsea asked and Ben frowned. Chelsea gave him subtle wide eyes, signaling that he shouldn't go into anything that has to do with visions.

"I have to stay after school today."

"No way!" Raven nearly shouted. "You got detention too?"

Ben shook his head slowly. "No, I'm a tutor."

"Since when?" Chelsea scoffed.

"Since my teacher asked me to do it."

"What subject?" Eddie asked.

"Physics. This girl in my class needs some help and since I'm doing so good, Mr. Jones said I should tutor; that it would look good for college."

A light bulb went off in Eddie's head. "Hey, you think you could help me out too?"

"Eddie, I thought you were doing good in Physics?" Chantel muffled, her mouth full of food.

"I'm doing okay, I could do better." Eddie looked at Ben. "So, how about it?"

"Sure."

"Great! So then, we can all meet up after detention."

"Whose got detention?" Ben asked.

"Me and Rae."

"Why?"

"Well, I was late to class and Raven didn't get dressed for gym again."

Ben shook his head. "Seems like the only person free to do anything after school is Chantel."

Chantel shook her head. "No, I have to baby-sit for my next door neighbor."

The teens ate in silence after that, but Eddie kept looking over at Ben, who kept looking over at Chelsea for some strange reason. 'He better not want to get back together with her.' Eddie thought suspiciously. 'We don't need any of that right now. I'll just have to talk to him after school.'

Ben glanced at Chelsea again, who hadn't really looked his way since he sat down. 'Today may be when my vision happens.' He thought miserably. 'At least I'll be here if they need me.'

* * *

'Aye Rock, guess what I 'eard." Deckland whispered to Rocky as he sat down at their lunch table.

"What?" Rocky asked, paying more attention to his lunch than to Deckland.

"Da two lovebirds are caged afta school."

"What the hell are you goin on about?"

"Ya girls…dey got detention!"

Michael rolled his eyes. 'Here we go.' He thought angrily.

Rocky finally turned his head toward Deckland, smiling. "No way."

"I swear on me Mudder's life."

"You don't even know your mother." Michael chimed in and Deckland smacked him in the back of the head.

"Shut yer trap." Then, Deckland turned back to Rocky. "How is that fer luck! We don even hafta search for 'em!"

"They're right over there." Rocky said, slightly nudging his head in their direction. "I've been seein them all day."

Michael turned around and Rocky hit him. "Ouch! What the fu--"

"Forget about Lawler! He's right there man!" Rocky hissed and Michael looked to his left. Principal Lawler was slowly walking up and down the cafeteria, meeting Michael's gaze with his own. Michael turned back to his food.

"If you care about him that much, why do you have to go through with your plan?"

"He ain't gonna be here after school. We're fine by then."

Michael nearly groaned. Rocky, having been dealt many hours of detention, knew that Lawler stayed for half an hour after school and then left. Detention lasted forty-five minutes. They had a fifteen minute window for anything unexpected. Michael really didn't want to go through with the plan. Just thinking about it made his stomach turn.

As Rocky, Deckland and Tyrone celebrated, Michael threw down his sandwich. He was completely torn; he didn't want to do anything to the girls, but if he didn't, he would lose the only friends he had in the world.

Life just wasn't fair.

* * *

**_Author's Note: Sorry once again that it's taken me so long, but this chapter is longer than most. The next few chapters should be exciting, if some of you are still willing to wait it out. Thanks again to all who reviewed and for the, "get well" wishes. :)_**


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 28

"All right, I know that none of us really wants to be here, but let's just make the best of the time that we've got." Mr. Donavon said dryly, taking a newspaper from his briefcase, leaning back in his chair and putting his feet up on the desk.

Raven and Chelsea looked at one another and then around the room. Nobody else was here but the two girls, but Mr. Donavon talked as if he were speaking to a full classroom. "Wow…packed today." Raven whispered and Chelsea giggled.

"No talking." The man behind the newspaper said and Raven frowned. Looking at her watch, she silently groaned as she realized that only two minutes had passed. Taking a piece of paper from her notebook, Raven wrote something and then handed it to Chelsea.

**Bored!**

Chelsea rolled her eyes and wrote back.

_Duh. What did you think, detention was gonna be a big party?_

**I didn't think we'd be the only ones here. Nobody else gets detention any more?**

_I don't know. What do you wanna do?_

Raven looked at the note and then at the gigantic newspaper with legs and then looked at Chelsea, smiling.

**Kiss me.**

Raven smiled again as Chelsea's eyes grew wide.

_What about the teacher?_

Raven rolled her eyes.

**He won't see. He's being eaten by his newspaper.**

_What if someone walks by?_

**What are they gonna do? Give us detention?**

_Ha ha_.

**Fine, you don't have to kiss me…chicken.**

Raven suppressed a laugh as Chelsea frowned at her and scribbled a response.

_Am not._

**Are too. Scaredy Cat**

_Am not!_

**Prove it.**

Chelsea looked at the door and then at Mr. Donavon, twisting her face in hesitation. Raven batted her eyelids, resting her head on her chin. Chelsea exhaled loudly and semi-stood up from her chair, stretching out her entire body as far as she could. The chair teetered on two legs as she inched closer to Raven. Raven moved in closer too. As the girls were about to kiss, the doorknob turned and the door opened.

Chelsea snapped her head toward the door, and the chair lost its balance, sending the poor girl to the floor.

"Oh!" Raven called out as the chair clattered on the linoleum. Mr. Donavon threw his paper down and stood up quickly. Raven looked from the floor to the front of the room quickly, seeing a confused Principal Lawler and an irritated Mr. Donavon staring at her.

Raven grabbed Chelsea's arm, helping the girl up and then picking the chair up.

"S-sorry!" Chelsea stammered. "I dropped my pen!"

"Miss Daniels, Miss Baxter, may I ask why you both are in detention?" Lawler asked, more surprised than angry.

"Well, I forgot my gym clothes at home…again, so I got detention."

"And I was late for class."

"Ah, the policy." Lawler nodded. Lawler then started to talk to Donavon and gave Raven the opportunity to talk to Chelsea.

"Are you all right?" She whispered as Chelsea sat back down.

"Peachy, thanks." Chelsea snapped back.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think Lawler was gonna come in right then."

Chelsea inhaled and exhaled loudly, crossing her arms and turning her head away from Raven.

"Chels--" Raven began, but Lawler spoke up, cutting them off.

"Well, carry on. I just came by to see if everything was going well. With the exception of Miss Daniels' mishap…everything seems fine."

"Completely under control sir." Mr. Donavon stated, sitting back down.

Principal Lawler looked at the newspapers and then back at Donavon. "Yes, I can see that. Good day ladies."

"Bye Principal Lawler." Raven said as sweetly as she could. Chelsea didn't say anything.

* * *

Ben checked his watch for the fourth time, sighing deeply. Eddie flipped through his Physics textbook a few times before shutting it and pushing it away from himself.

It had been twenty minutes and Ben's student hadn't shown up yet. "I don't think she's coming man." Eddie stated, leaning back in his chair.

"Yeah well, then it's not my problem." Ben turned to Eddie. "Do you still want help?"

Eddie shook his head. "No. I just used that excuse to stay after school."

"Why?"

"I wanted to wait for Rae and Chels."

"Oh. Because of Rocky and whatever?"

Eddie nodded.

"Yeah, I was kind of happy that I was here too." Ben said, stacking his books on his desk.

There were a few moments of silence before Eddie leaned forward. "So, Ben, what's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Any new lady friends, if you get my meaning?"

Ben looked at Eddie strangely before simply saying, "No."

"No new girls or no you don't get me?"

"No new girls. Why?"

"No reason. It's just, you broke up with Chelsea months ago and you haven't been with any other girls. And you keep hanging around Chelsea."

"So?"

"So what's up man? You still got feelings for her?"

Ben rubbed his forehead as he thought about the question. "I guess I do. But she's with Raven."

"You don't have any ideas about getting her back, right?"

"What? No! Why are you asking me?"

Ben's reaction was so intense that it stunned Eddie for a minute, and it drained him of all confidence. "W-well, it's just…I saw the way you were looking at Chelsea at lunch. I-I-I thought you wanted to get back with her."

"No." Ben shook his head and then groaned a little. "It's…I really shouldn't be telling you this."

"What?"

Ben looked around, as if to see if anyone was there to listen to what he had to say. He leaned in closer to Eddie and whispered. "You gotta promise that you won't tell Chelsea I told you. And you can't tell Raven."

"What man?" Eddie whispered back, panic beginning to rise inside of him.

"I had a vision. A bad one."

Eddie exhaled, looking up at the ceiling. Shaking his head, he said, "Man, you are not gonna believe this."

"What?"

"Rae had a bad vision too. And she made me promise not to tell Chelsea."

"Chelsea made me promise not to tell Raven."

Eddie looked around, making sure that Ben's student hadn't shown up. No one was there. "So, what was your vision about?"

* * *

Lawler jogged down the school steps and into the semi-empty parking lot, checking his watch. He had a meeting down at the Board of Education in forty minutes and had just enough time to get there. After searching the hallways for stragglers and, since learning that Raven and Chelsea were still in school, for Rocky and his gang, Lawler concluded that everything was all right.

Whistling, Lawler walked to his car, popped the trunk, and threw his briefcase in. Walking over to his door, he suddenly stopped his tune when the sound of scraped gravel echoed through the lot off to his right. He turned, scanning the lot, but nobody was there but him.

There were still a few cars in the lot beside his own; the janitor's, the security guards', and one or two teachers, so it wouldn't have been hard to spot another person. But the lot was empty.

An uneasy feeling settled in Lawler's stomach, and he thought of checking the school once again, but then he would be late for the meeting. It was an important meeting that he couldn't miss. Despite what his gut was telling him, Lawler just assumed that he was hearing things and got into his car.

Starting it up, backing out of the spot and driving slowly out of the lot, Lawler checked his rearview to see if anyone was there. The lot was empty. Breathing deeply, Lawler drove on to the meeting.

Tyrone poked his head out from behind the bumper of the car he was crouched behind. That was way too close, but he didn't get caught. Smiling, he stood up and made his way to Rocky to give him the good news.

* * *

Michael inhaled the last of his cigarette before dropping the butt on the ground and running his boot over it. Rubbing his face with a hand shook his head as he watched Rocky pace back and forth.

They had been waiting in the kiddy playground two blocks from school for twenty minutes and Tyrone hadn't come back yet.

"Where is he? He shoulda been back by now!" Rocky cracked, flicking his cigarette and immediately going into his pocket for another.

"Maybe he got caught." Michael offered, hoping it was true.

"Naw. Ty neva gets caught. 'ell be here Rock. Jus wait."

"Yeah, but what if he is? Then what?" Michael shouted. "This whole thing is a bad idea Rocky."

"What?" Rocky asked, stopping his frantic pace and looking at Michael.

"I got a bad feeling. Something's gonna go real wrong."

"Oh, wha are ya, psychic or sumting?" Deckland cackled from behind Michael.

Rocky rushed over to Michael, his anxiety and irritation getting the best of him. "Hey, what did you promise you weren't gonna do any more? Huh?" Rocky shouted, pushing Michael a little.

Michael stumbled back, avoiding eye contact with his leader. Tightening his jaw, he muttered, "That I wouldn't go against you."

"What? I didn't hear you."

"That…that I wouldn't go against you." Michael said a little louder.

"That's right…now will you do me a favor and shut the fuck up?"

Michael rubbed the back of his head and hesitantly nodded, still avoiding eye contact. He walked away from Rocky toward the jungle gym. Deckland moved forward, pointing down the block. "There 'e is Rock."

Rocky squinted, exhaling in relief. "Finally." Tyrone reached them in seconds and didn't even have a chance to catch his breath before Rocky asked, "Is everything cool?"

Tyrone nodded, smiling and rubbing his hands together. Almost immediately, Rocky's disposition changed from anxiety to joy. "That's what I like to hear my man!" Rocky exclaimed, wrapping his arm around Tyrone's neck and putting him in a loose headlock.

Looking at his watch, Deckland said, "It's almost time Rocky. You wanna go?"

Rocky nodded. "You got the camera?"

"Right 'ere." Deckland said, pulling a disposable camera from his pockets and wiggling it a little between his thumb and forefinger.

"All right," Rocky rasped, letting go of Tyrone and rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "It's show time." Then, he turned around. "Hey Mike, move your ass!"

Michael rolled his eyes and scratched the back of his head. The other three started off ahead of him. 'Now's your chance, while they're not looking. Run, find a phone, call someone.' His mind begged him, but Michael didn't listen. If he did do that, it would be his ass. And Rocky would never be his friend again.

As much as he hated it, he stayed with his gang.

* * *

The newspaper had folded over his chest and Mr. Donavon's soft snoring echoed throughout the classroom, but it was overshadowed by the deafening silent treatment that Raven was getting. Chelsea had put her head down on the desk and hadn't looked up since.

"Come on Chels, I said I was sorry." Raven whispered, but Chelsea didn't answer. "How much longer are you going to be mad at me?"

This time Chelsea did respond. She turned to Raven and smiled a little, indicating that she had forgiven Raven a while ago. "I think five more minutes should do it."

Raven smacked Chelsea on the arm. "I thought you were really mad at me!"

"Nah…well I was for a few minutes, but then I got over it. Then, I fell asleep for a while--" Chelsea stopped when Raven smacked her on the arm again. "What? I was bored!"

Raven shook her head. "Forgive me?"

"Please, how could I say no?"

Raven shrugged.

Before they could say anything else, Mr. Donavon's cell phone went off. He jumped up, nearly falling over. Fumbling a little, he finally grabbed his phone and answered it. "Hello? What? O-okay! I'm coming!" Crazily gathering all of his things and tossing it haphazardly into his briefcase, Mr. Donavon jumped up and down, laughing.

"Mr. Donavon, what's going on?" Raven asked, frightened by his sudden outburst.

"My wife's having a baby! I gotta go!" He shouted happily, running for the door. Chelsea and Raven didn't even get a chance to say anything before Mr. Donavon was gone.

They sat there in shock for a few moments before Chelsea said, "Can we leave?"

Raven shrugged. "I guess."

Getting up and looking outside, Raven saw him. Deckland, looking through the window directly at her, was smiling. His crooked yellow teeth gleamed in the sunlight. She gasped in surprise, nearly jumping.

Chelsea, who was getting her book bag from under her desk snapped up. "What?" She followed Raven's gaze to the window, but there was nothing there. "Rae," She began, getting up and putting a hand on her shaking girlfriend's shoulder. "What is it?"

Raven slowly turned her gaze to Chelsea. "We're in trouble."


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 29

"What do we do?" Chelsea whispered hoarsely, panic taking over.

Raven shook her head. "I don't kn--"

"Ladies." That familiar raspy voice echoed through Chelsea's ears and crept up her spine, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. It was Rocky.

Both Raven and Chelsea turned her head slowly toward the classroom door. Rocky stood there, blocking the doorway, his shoulders shaking with laughter. "Long time no see." He rasped, stepping closer to them. "Pity too, we were having such a ball. I leave, you don't call…you don't write…you don't even send a card. I thought we were friends."

Raven gripped Chelsea's hand so tightly it was starting to turn a different shade, but Chelsea didn't notice. All she could feel was her heart thumping in her chest. She was sure everyone else could hear it too. It was so loud…

The girls started to back away from Rocky slowly. "What do you want?" Raven mustered the courage to ask.

"Well…" Rocky said, scratching his stubbly chin, "That's a toughie. I want a million dollars, a new car, maybe to be a little bit taller. But these ain't gonna happen. See…" He began, inching ever closer, as the girls ran out of room behind them. "…what I want is to make you two dykes pay." Rocky stopped for a second, the wide, evil grin spreading across his face.

"And that is most definitely gonna happen."

Suddenly, the window behind Raven and Chelsea swung open and a loud shout sounded off. "Oh girls!" Deckland sang tauntingly, making both Raven and Chelsea scream, jump and turn around. Deckland hopped inside the window, laughing loudly. "Sorry, did a scare ya? I'm just poppin in tah say 'ello!"

Raven and Chelsea moved back, but Rocky was behind them. Raven snapped her head around, looking at both boys. "Leave us alone!"

"Nah, it's too late fer tat." Deckland scoffed. "We're goin ta 'ave a lil fun wit ya."

The boys closed in on Raven and Chelsea, smiling and laughing manically. Chelsea looked from Deckland to Rocky and back again, tearing her hand from Raven and gripping her schoolbag tightly. Rocky was closer to her; she could smell the cigarette smoke wafting off of his body. She drew in a deep breath and…

Raven heard Chelsea inhale and knew what was about to happen, so she prepared herself for the fight of her life.

Chelsea brought her foot up hard and fast, but a little off target, kicking Rocky very hard in the thigh. "Oh God Damn It!" Rocky shouted, bending over out of reflex. Chelsea took the opportunity to swing her book bag at his head and push forward, sending Rocky to the floor, making desks scatter about the room.

Raven was more on target when she kicked and hit Deckland hard right between the legs. He cursed, doubling over in pain and falling to his knees on the floor, holding his crotch. Thinking quickly, Raven jumped over him and went for the window, nearly leaping head first out of the opening. As she climbed over the frame, Deckland grabbed her ankle.

"Ya God Damn Dyke!" Deckland shouted, red-faced from pain and fury. Raven wriggled her leg wildly and Deckland finally lost his grip. She fell backward the two feet it was from the frame to the hard concrete, yelping in pain as needles shot up and down her right arm.

Quickly squeezing between two desks and avoiding all of Rocky's wild attempts to grab her ankles, Chelsea screamed as she made her way to the classroom door. "Run Raven!"

Rocky was up and moving as Chelsea flung the classroom door open, flying out into the empty school hallway. Her sneakers squeaked loudly as she ran, screaming at the top of her lungs. "HELP ME!" Praying that somebody, anybody would be there and hear her.

* * *

"Ben, man, what are we gonna do--" Eddie began, but stopped when a piercing scream echoed through the hallway. 

_"HELP ME!"_

Both boys stood up quickly. "That's Chelsea!" Ben shouted, taking off. Eddie wasn't far behind.

* * *

Chelsea turned a corner, panting wildly. The door to the school's entrance was right in front of her. She didn't bother to look back, but she knew that Rocky was closing in. She could distinctly hear the buckles of his leather jacket clinking together. 'Just make it to the door. Make it to the door and you'll be all right.' She rationalized mentally. A figure suddenly appeared in front of the door though and Chelsea let out another yell. "**HELP ME PLEASE!"**

Then she realized it was Rocky's friend Michael.

* * *

Raven scrambled backward, her jeans scraping on the concrete as she fought to stand but her legs weren't working properly. Her breath hitched in her throat as she saw Deckland stand, his face red, his jaw tightened and his teeth grinding. "Yur fecking dead dyke." He sputtered through his teeth as he slowly made his way out the window. 

Raven turned on her belly and pushed herself up with her arms, finally gaining control of her legs as she stood up. As she went to run though, another figure smacked into her, pushing her back down on the ground. Looking up, a moan of anguish escaped her lips. Tyrone towered over her, his black sunglasses reflecting the sun. Before she could do anything else, he picked her up by her shirt and began to drag her across the yard, scraping her boots against the ground.

"Let go!" She screamed loudly but Tyrone just gripped on tighter. "Help! HELP!" Raven shouted as she tried to break free of Tyrone's grip. In a flash he lifted her up, spun her around and not a second later, the back of Deckland's hand was connecting with her face.

"Shut tah feck up!" He shouted and then doubled over again, breathing heavily. Raven fell back against Tyrone, dazed, as he wrapped his arms around her whole upper body, still dragging her along.

* * *

"Mikey STOP HER!" Rocky shouted as they ran. "STOP THAT BITCH!" 

Chelsea ran as fast as she could; she didn't know what she was going to do once she reached Michael, all she knew was that she had to make it outside.

"HEY!" A voice shouted from behind Rocky and he turned, his eyes widening. It was Ben Hartman and Eddie Thomas…the dykes' guy friends. What the hell were they doing here? It didn't matter now, it was too late and he wasn't going to let Chelsea go.

"MIKEY CATCH THAT BITCH!"

Michael stood frozen in the hallway just a few feet from the door. If he moved out of her way, Rocky would kill him. But if he caught her, Rocky was going to hurt her. To top it off, the girls' friends were here too. He knew that everything was going to go wrong. Time was running out as they got closer and closer. He had to make a decision.

"CHELSEA!" Ben and Eddie called out together as they ran.

"MIKEY FUCKING GET HER!" Rocky screamed, his voice cracking from stress and lack of oxygen.

Michael bent down, opening his arms just as Chelsea ran up to him. Now, if he were intent on catching her, he would have made a loop around her waist with his arms and swung her around, putting her in a bear hug of sorts. Instead, as Chelsea connected with Michael, he leaned back on his left leg and lost his balance, sending both himself and Chelsea to the floor. He prayed that she would move fast enough to get away.

Chelsea and Michael slid, getting tangled up in one another. Chelsea wasted no time wiggling from his loose grip and sliding on her belly away from the boy toward the doors. She scrambled to her feet, pushing one door open and letting the sunlight hit her face before someone slammed into the back of her and sent her on to the cold, hard concrete. She shouted as her arms scraped against the ground.

Rocky bent down over Chelsea, wrapped his fist around her hair and pulled, forcing the girl to scream and stand up. "Please..." She whimpered and Rocky snickered in return.

Tears streamed down Chelsea's face as Rocky whispered in her ear, "You're fucking dead."

Raven had stopped fighting with Tyrone and Deckland just before Chelsea appeared at the top of the school steps. She watched as Rocky pushed Chelsea to the ground and then pull her up by her hair.

"Chelsea!" She screamed, beginning to struggle all over again. Tyrone tightened his bear hug around her and began to drag her up the steps, with a now laughing Deckland trailing behind them. She wondered where the security guard was or if people driving by saw what was happening. Nobody was walking by the school, but cars must've been driving by. Why wasn't anyone stopping to help? Tears began to fall from her eyes when she heard Chelsea shout in pain.

* * *

Michael stood up seconds before Ben and Eddie reached him. Eddie was about to tackle him when Michael put his hands up! "No! Outside quick!" 

Ben sailed past him to the doors.

* * *

"Deckland!" Rocky shouted as he turned Chelsea around. "We got company!" 

Deckland shot up the stairs just as Ben emerged, swinging away. Ben dodged the first few, but Deckland caught him in the left eye with one, sending him backward.

"BEN!" Chelsea screamed and Rocky yanked on her hair.

Tyrone violently threw Raven aside as they reached the top of the stairs, sending her sprawling out on to the concrete once again just as Eddie ran outside. Eddie tackled Tyrone, both boys rolling on the ground as they fought.

Ben took another hit to the stomach but ducked when Deckland threw a right hook. He recoiled, punching Deckland has hard as he could in the gut before quickly (and very luckily) upper-cutting the boy right on the chin. Deckland's head snapped back; he fell to the concrete, unconscious.

Raven sat up, rubbing her throbbing arm just as Eddie and Tyrone rolled by, fists flying everywhere. Michael emerged from inside. "Rocky stop!" He shouted, but didn't move from the doorway.

Everything was happening so fast and all at once…Michael didn't have time to think.

Rocky was distracted momentarily by Michael's outcry and Chelsea took that opportunity to show his leg her foot again, kicking his shin with her heel as hard as she possibly could. He shouted, his grip loosened, and Chelsea stomped on his foot.

Ben shook the cobwebs from his head, the world spinning a little as he zeroed in on Rocky and Chelsea. He ran for them just as Chelsea stepped on Rocky's foot.

Rocky grabbed Chelsea by the shoulders and spun her around to face him. He saw Ben running for them out of the corner of his eye. He had seconds, but it was all the time Rocky needed. Ben ran for them, intending to hit Rocky. Instead, Rocky pushed Chelsea and in a matter of moments, ducked under Ben's swinging arms, spun around behind Ben and pushed him as hard as he could toward the red-headed girl.  
Ben connected with Chelsea, sending both of them flying down the hard stone school steps.

Seeing the whole thing, Raven screamed, "CHELSEA!"

While he was falling, Ben heard Raven. 'My vision,' he thought just before he hit the bottom and came to a rolling stop.

Rocky stood at the top of the stairs, panting heavily. Both Ben and Chelsea stopped moving as soon as they hit the bottom; Chelsea lying on her back at the foot of the bottom step and Ben on his stomach a few inches away.

Eddie rolled on top of Tyrone, punched him in the face and was going to punch him again when he heard Raven screaming. His fist stopped mid throw and he looked up, seeing Rocky standing at the top of the stairs and Raven scrambling to her feet. Ben and Chelsea were no where in sight.

Tyrone took the short pause as an opportunity to hit Eddie in his gut with both hands. Eddie let out a choked gasp before rolling off of the boy. Tyrone was immediately on his feet, kicking Eddie in the side for good measure before taking the unfolding scene in for himself.

Michael was sure he stopped breathing when he saw Ben and Chelsea hit and his legs felt like rubber as he staggered toward Rocky, afraid to see what was just beyond his line of sight.

Raven shakily made her way to the bottom, screaming Chelsea's name the whole way down, until she fell to her knees beside her fallen girlfriend. Chelsea's eyes were closed and she wasn't moving. Raven looked at Ben for a second. He was moving around a little, slowly bringing a bloody hand up to the back of his head.

She immediately turned her attentions back to Chelsea. She floated her hands centimeters from Chelsea's head, afraid to touch her. "Chelsea." She whispered slowly.

No answer.

Raven cautiously took one of Chelsea's hands into one of her own, squeezing it tightly. Chelsea's fingers hung limply in Raven's hand. "Chelsea, baby--" Raven began, carefully running a hand through Chelsea's hair, trying to bring the girl's head on to her lap when her fingers found something wet and warm.

Raven's heart skipped a beat as she withdrew her hand from Chelsea's head.

"That'll teach you to mess with Rocky Collera." Rocky shouted from the top of the steps, but his voice was a little shaky, as if he were unsure of what he had done.

"Rock what did you do!" Michael screamed, running down the steps to Raven and Chelsea.

If Raven was paying attention, she would have realized that what was happening right now was her vision. But she wasn't paying attention because all she was doing was staring at her hand. All she could see was her hand; the rest of the world melted away around it. Four fingers were covered in blood…


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

**_Author's Note: Hi guys. I'm just writing to tell y'all that I just made up names for Ben's parents, since they'll be making a short appearance. That's all. Enjoy!_**

Chapter 30

_**"Paging Dr. Stevens. Dr. Stevens to the front desk…"**_

Raven stared up at her hospital room ceiling, watching the lights of passing cars cast odd shadows on the plain white paint. She was laying there in the dark, her right arm in a sling, hurting less than before, but still hurting. She hadn't seen anyone but Chelsea since school (they rode in the ambulance together) and the doctor half an hour ago…and then there was nothing. No word on Ben or Eddie or Chelsea. _Chelsea…  
_  
Chelsea hadn't woken up in the ambulance and her head continued to bleed on the way to the hospital. The ambulance ride was so chaotic; the paramedics were shouting different medical terms at one another and Raven didn't understand a word of it. She kept asking how Chelsea was, but nobody would give her a straightforward answer.

_"Don't worry. We're doing everything we can for her Miss."_

_"It'll be all right. Let's just concentrate on you."_

_"We're almost there; everything will be okay."_

One sympathetic paramedic told Raven that Chelsea was going to be fine but he didn't sound too sure. How could he be? As soon as they got to the hospital Raven was wheeled into this dark room, treated by a very nice male doctor and then left alone to think. To think about how she should have told someone, anyone about her vision. To think that if she had told someone, her friends wouldn't be hurt.

'It's all my fault,' she thought miserably.

She thought she might start crying when two dark figures appeared in her room doorway.

"Raven!" A shaky voice cried out and Raven immediately recognized it as her mother Tanya…which meant the other person was Victor.

"Oh my baby!" Tanya cried, rushing over to Raven and wrapping her in a hug. The hug was over as soon as it began, with Tanya pushing Raven back to get a good look at her. "Are you all right? What happened to your arm? And your lip! Oh…" Tanya couldn't continue.

Raven gingerly touched the small cut on her lip with her fingertips realizing for the first time that it was there. Her cheek was sore where Deckland slapped her; the cut was probably also a product of his back hand. "I'm okay." She whispered hoarsely. Her throat was dry from all of the screaming and crying.

"What happened?" Victor said, moving to the other side of Raven's bed and gently taking her free hand.

"We were attacked." Raven answered, lowering her head. Tears burned her eyes. "Me and Chelsea. Ben and Eddie tried to help but…"

"Who attacked you?" Victor said.

"Rocky Collera and his friends."

"Rocky who?" Tanya choked out. This was the first she had heard of this boy and she felt like murdering him.

"Rocky Collera. He's a bully…he's the one that wrote 'Dyke' on my locker." Raven muttered bitterly.

Victor furrowed his brow in anger, tightening his jaw and exhaling heavily.

Before anyone had a chance to speak, the doctor came in. He was a mildly handsome man in his mid to late thirties with slicked back brown hair and a warm smile. "Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Baxter I presume." He asked softly, ushering over to Raven's bed, scanning through the papers of the clipboard he held in his hand.

"Victor Baxter." Victor said, shaking the doctor's hand. "This is my wife Tanya."

"I'm Dr. Burke." He greeted and then looked at Raven. "How are we feeling Raven?"

Raven shrugged.

"Doctor, is Raven going to be okay?" Tanya asked, sitting on Raven's bed and pulling her daughter into a looser hug.

Dr. Burke smiled slightly. "Raven sprained her elbow during the attack, but with constant elevation and some ice, it should heal in no time. There is also a minor bruising on her cheek. Again, ice should keep the swelling at bay. Other than that, your daughter is fine." He said, flipping through the papers again.

"She was very distraught when the medics brought her in, that's why I gave her the bed, but you don't have to stay Raven." He added and then turned to Victor. "You can take her home as soon as you fill out some forms at the front desk."

Victor nodded. "Thank you Doctor."

"My pleasure. The forms are at the desk, I'll inform the nurse. Take care Raven." Dr. Burke shook hands with Victor one last time before leaving.

Tanya stood up. "Come on baby, let's get you home."

Raven shook her head. "No. I can't leave yet. I have to know if Chelsea's okay."

"I'm sure Chelsea is going to be fine. " Tanya soothed.

This time a few tears escaped Raven's eyes as she shook her head again. "She was hurt so badly Mom. I can't leave until I know she's okay."

"We can ask at the nurses' station." Tanya offered and Victor nodded.

Raven sighed and then hopped off the bed. She didn't get two steps before she broke down. This time, Victor hugged his daughter, tears forming in his own eyes.

"I'm so scared." Raven sobbed, her words muffled as she buried her face in Victor's shirt. "I don't want her to die Daddy."

"Shh. It's okay." Victor whispered, gently running a hand over Raven's hair, hugging her tightly.

"I love her so much…she can't die."

Tears streamed down Tanya's face as she watched Victor comfort their daughter. Why did this happen? More importantly, how could this have happened?

Victor swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling his heart break with every sob that escaped Raven's lips. He was worried about Chelsea too. Chelsea was like a daughter to him; he had known her since she was about five years old. She was a constant fixture at their house…sometimes even when Raven wasn't there. She didn't deserve to be attacked. Neither of the girls deserved this.

It was because they were gay.

* * *

Eddie sat slouched in the waiting room chair, holding an ice pack to his eye. He had called his mother an hour ago, but she couldn't get off from work to pick him up. She was going to leave, but then she would lose pay and Eddie didn't want to do that to her. After assuring her several times that he was okay, he sat in the hospital waiting room doing exactly what the room was intended for. Waiting. Mr. and Mrs. Daniels arrived a few minutes after he settled down, asking him all sorts of questions. 

_"Eddie, what happened?"_

_"Is my baby okay?"_

_"Who are these boys that attacked them?"_

_"How did they get into school?"_

_"Where were the security guards?"_

_"Where was the principal?"_

_"Is Chelsea okay?"_

_"You say she was unconscious?"_

_"How did this happen!"_

After being bombarded, Eddie almost thought it best to walk home, but he decided to stay. Although he answered all of their questions to the best of his abilities, he didn't have any idea how Chelsea, Raven, or Ben were, and he wanted to find out. And he wasn't leaving until he did.

Soon after, a doctor approached the Daniels and spoke very quietly to them. It was probably about Chelsea, but Eddie didn't get a chance to ask. The doctor, Chester and Charlene were gone in a matter of seconds. They hadn't come back out and it was frustrating Eddie to no end. He couldn't sit any longer. Throwing down the ice pack, he got up and decided to look for a vending machine.

As he slowly shuffled along (his stomach still hurt) he saw Raven and the Baxter's walking up to the nurses' desk. Raven's arm was in a sling and she looked very upset, but otherwise she was okay. "Rae!" He shouted, scooting over to the girl.

Raven turned and gasped. "Eddie! Oh thank God!" Raven cried shakily, running toward him. They met in the middle of the hallway and embraced, Eddie gently wrapping his arms around Raven, conscious of her arm. Tanya and Victor headed for the nurses' station, letting the friends talk.

"Are you okay?" She asked, tears threatening to fall again.

"Yeah, you? Is your arm broken?"

"No, I sprained my elbow but I'm good." Raven looked at the sling and then snapped her head back up at Eddie. "Did you hear anything about Chelsea?"

Eddie shook his head solemnly. "No. Mr. and Mrs. Daniels were here and a doctor spoke to them, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. They left so quickly I didn't get a chance to ask anything. I was just gonna wait until they came back."

"Oh…my parents are asking at the desk. Maybe they'll get something." Raven sniffled. "Any word on Ben?"

Eddie shook his head again. "No. I was in the ambulance with him…I think I heard something about him breaking his leg, but I'm not sure."

Raven exhaled. "It's all my fault."

"What?" Eddie squeaked, shocked that Raven could think such a thing.

"I should've told Chelsea about my vision. Then, maybe, she would be okay--"

"Chelsea is going to be fine Raven. I know she is."

"You can't be sure."

"Yes I can be. Chelsea's strong, she'll be okay. You'll see Rae."

Eddie hugged Raven again, resting his chin on the top of her head. Raven closed her eyes, biting her lip to keep her tears at bay. She broke away from Eddie; she didn't want to be hugged anymore. She just wanted to know if her girlfriend was all right.

Victor and Tanya walked up to them. "Eddie, are you okay?" Tanya asked with genuine concern.

Eddie nodded. "I'm okay Mrs. B, thanks."

"Did they tell you anything about Chelsea?" Raven asked anxiously.

Both of her parents shook their heads. "Nothing." Victor said.

"Eddie said that Mr. and Mrs. Daniels were here, and a doctor spoke to them."

"Yeah, I think he took them to see Chelsea." Eddie added.

"We were going to wait until they came out."

Victor seemed reluctant. "I don't know Raven. You should really go home and get some rest."

Raven stepped back, shying away from Victor's outstretched arm. "No. I told you I'm not leaving until I know she's okay."

Victor was about to protest again when Tanya put a hand on his arm. "It's okay Raven. You can stay." She said, and then added, "One of us should really go home and tell Cory though."

Victor looked at Tanya and then at Raven, sighing heavily. "I'll go."

Tanya nodded. "All right, I'll walk you out. Raven, Eddie, why don't you guys go sit in the waiting room, just in case Chester and Charlene come out?"

Raven and Eddie nodded. "Thanks." Raven said before they headed off to the waiting room.

Victor watched them go before turning to Tanya. "Don't you think we should take her home? It might take all night to find out about Chelsea."

"I know Victor, but you have to understand. Raven isn't going to leave without knowing that Chelsea is okay. I know that it's hard to accept, but the girls are in love. If it were me in there and you out here, wouldn't you wait all night?"

"If it were me and you, this never would've happened." Victor whispered angrily. "This happened because they're les…" Victor trailed off, unable to say the word.

Tanya shook her head. "Victor, sweetheart, I know why this happened, but that doesn't change the fact that Raven and Chelsea love one another, no matter what anyone says or does. Now, answer the question: Wouldn't you wait all night to hear about me?"

Victor sighed in defeat. "You know I would."

"Then just think of it like that." She said, giving him a quick peck on the lips. "Now go home. I'll call if there's any news."

"How will you get home?" Victor asked as they walked outside to the hospital parking lot.

"We'll take a cab."

"Absolutely not. I'll pick you up, just call me."

"Are you sure?"

Victor nodded. "I'll see you soon, hopefully."

"Okay." Tanya said and they kissed again.

Victor got into the car and Tanya walked back inside the hospital. He sighed, starting the car up. He knew that Raven loved Chelsea; he could tell the moment Raven asked about her. This wasn't a phase, it was forever. Victor just didn't know how to deal with it. He was going to learn though. If it took him until he died he was going to learn to accept it.

* * *

Raven, Eddie and Tanya sat in the hospital waiting room in silence, watching doctors and nurses stroll by them as if they were invisible. It had been about two hours since Victor left and there was no word on Chelsea and no Chester or Charlene. Raven was resting her head on Tanya's shoulder and Eddie was slouched in the chair looking at an outdated magazine when two distraught adults entered the waiting room. 

Raven watched them look at her, Tanya, and Eddie, but she didn't take her head off of Tanya's shoulder. They looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen them before. The woman, thin blonde lady in her early forties, hesitantly approached them. Raven picked her head up as Tanya sat up straighter. "I'm sorry to disturb you," The woman began. "Are you R-Raven? Raven Baxter?"

Raven nodded.

The woman sighed. "Philip, it's her." She said, turning first toward the man and then back to Raven and Tanya. "I'm Julia Hartman, Ben's mother."

Raven immediately perked up. "O-oh! Mrs. Hartman. Is Ben okay?"

Julia nodded. "Yes. He broke his leg in the fall and has a minor concussion, but the doctors said he was going to be fine. He actually wanted to see you."

Raven looked at Tanya, who nodded. "Go ahead honey. It's okay."

"Room 314, just to your left and at the end of the hall." Philip said, pointing down the hallway.

Raven gave Julia the best smile she could produce at the moment, stood up and began down the hall. She turned back for a moment and saw Tanya, Julia and Philip talking.

* * *

It was dark inside Ben's room.Raven knocked on the door softly before entering. 

Ben was lying in the hospital bed with a newly cast leg hanging from the pole connected to the bed. He had a bandaged hand over his eyes, groaning a little at the knock. Raven walked to the foot of his bed, resting her hand on the edge.

"Hey Ben." Raven said softly and Ben took his hand away from his eyes.

"Hi," he said wearily. "You hurt your arm?"

"I'm okay." Raven shrugged. "You hurt your leg."

Ben nodded. "Any word on Chelsea?"

Raven shook her head. "No. I'm waiting though."

"How about Eddie?"

"Eddie's okay."

There were a few moments of silence before Ben spoke up. "So, did he tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"I had a vision…about this."

"You did?"

Ben sighed. "But I didn't know that it was about Rocky until he attacked you and Chelsea. Chelsea made me promise not to tell you and I know I should've. I'm sorry."

Raven stepped closer to Ben's bed and placed her good hand on his arm, giving it a little squeeze. "It's okay. I had a vision too and I made Eddie promise not to tell Chelsea."

"I know."

There was more silence. Raven wasn't sure of what to do. Should she leave or stay? Ben closed his eyes, putting the bandaged hand back over them. "My head is killing me."

"Do you want me to get somebody?"

"No. The doctor's gave me something for the leg…I have to deal with the headache."

"I'll just leave you to rest then."

"Okay."

Raven turned to leave, but then looked back at Ben. "Thank you, for helping us."

"Some help I was…If I didn't go after Rocky like that we wouldn't have fallen--"

"It's not your fault." Raven said, cutting him off.

Ben didn't say anything after that and Raven quietly left the room. She adjusted the sling strap on her shoulder as she walked back down the hall. She froze in the middle of the hallway, her heart fluttering.

Chester was talking to Tanya and Eddie. Nobody looked happy. 'Oh God no,' Raven thought miserably. Her stomach did flips inside of her. Tanya hugged Chester.When they seperated, he nodded sadly and then immediately took off in the opposite direction, disappearing behind a pair of swinging doors.

Raven forced her legs to start working, staggering to Tanya and Eddie, who just stood there, looking grim. 'No, no, no, no.' Raven mentally screamed over and over again.

Tanya looked up and met Raven's gaze just as she reached them.

"Raven, honey…"

Raven's eyes welled up with tears. She thought she might collapse right there in the middle of the waiting room. After what seemed like forever, Raven finally choked out her words in a barely audible whisper.

"Is Chelsea okay?"


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 31

_"Is Chelsea okay?"_

Tanya sighed, nodding slowly. "She has a concussion, a pretty bad one sweetie. She also broke her arm and bruised a few ribs, but she's going to be okay."

Raven felt her knees grow weak as relief flooded over her. She exhaled, not even realizing she had been holding her breath. Eddie jumped forward, grabbing Raven's good arm and wrapping his other arm around her waist, steadying and hugging her at the same time. "She's okay Rae. I told you she'd be okay." He whispered shakily in her ear, indicating that he was fighting to keep himself composed.

Tears of relief began to stream down Raven's face. She closed her eyes, silently thanking God that Chelsea was going to be okay.

Tanya couldn't help but let a small smile creep on to the corner of her mouth. "Chester said that if you wanted to, you could see Chelsea for a minute."

"Really?" Raven said, surprised. Tanya nodded.

"Room 337, just through those doors."

"You okay to walk Rae?" Eddie asked, squeezing her arm a little.

Raven nodded, standing up straighter. "I'll be okay." She reassured Eddie as she wiped the tear streaks off of her cheeks.

"I'm going to go call your father. I'll be right out here when you're done." Tanya said, wrapping Raven in one more hug before the girl headed through the swinging doors.

Raven walked slowly down the hall, unsure of which room was which, when Chester and Charlene came into view. "Mr. and Mrs. Daniels." Raven called out, quickening her pace a little bit. Charlene put a small hand to her mouth at the sight of Raven.

"Raven, honey, are you all right?" Charlene asked, touching Raven on the shoulder when Raven reached them.

Raven nodded. "I'm okay Mrs. Daniels, thanks for asking. So, how's Chelsea?" She said quickly, anxious to see her girlfriend.

"She keeps drifting in and out of consciousness, so don't expect her to say very much." Chester said, sighing and looking in the dim room at his daughter.

"But she's going to be okay, right?" Raven asked, the deep concern in her voice was not lost on either Chester or Charlene. It touched them very deeply.

Charlene nodded, her already tear-soaked eyes beginning to well up again. "Yes Raven. Why don't you go in? She's asked about you a few times."

"But you mustn't stay too long. She needs her rest." Chester added.

Raven nodded. "I promise to keep it short. Thank you for letting me see her."

Both of the Daniels nodded silently in response. Raven took a deep breath before turning and entering Chelsea's room.

She wasn't prepared for the sight that lay before her.

Chelsea looked so small and pale in that big hospital bed. A white bandage was wrapped around her head, covering from the top to the middle of the girl's forehead. A white cast covered her left arm from the middle of her upper arm all the way down. She was on her back, angled to an almost upright position. Monitors beeped and machines buzzed, filling the room with some sort of noise, but all Raven could hear was the beating of her heart.

As she inched forward, she kept whispering, "She's okay. She's okay. She's okay." over and over again as if to make herself believe that despite how bad Chelsea looked, she would recover. Raven finally reached the side of the bed, gripping on to the side rail to keep herself from running out of the room.

Chelsea's arm twitched, making Raven jump a little. Her head turned toward Raven and her eyes fluttered. They cracked open barely enough to be a squint, but Chelsea was awake.

"Hey baby," Raven whispered, her voice cracking with intense emotion, "Are you okay?"

"Raven…What happened?" Chelsea asked breathlessly, seemingly dazed and barely awake.

"You took a really bad spill down the stairs, but you're gonna be fine. I promise." Raven said sweetly, running a fingertip across Chelsea's cheek.

"What happened to your arm?"

"Don't you worry about that now." Raven soothed. "You should get some rest. How's your head?"

"S'okay." Chelsea slurred slowly. She was drifting off again. "Love you…"

"I love you too Chelsea." Raven said shakily, bending down and kissing Chelsea gently on the forehead. "I'm so sorry that this happened, but I promise that I'll never, ever let you get hurt again. I'm going to take care of you baby for the rest of my life." She whispered, kissing Chelsea softly on the head several times.

Raven didn't expect a response; Chelsea had fallen back asleep again. She just needed to say it. She meant every word of it too. Raven's heart skipped a beat every time she thought about how close she came to losing the girl she loved today. She would do everything in her power to keep from being this close to losing Chelsea again.

Raven touched Chelsea's cheek one more time before quietly leaving the room. Outside, Chester was leaning up against a wall; his arms were crossed against his chest and his head hung loosely, as if he were sleeping standing up. He moved as soon as Raven took a few steps toward him.

"Hello." He greeted flatly, as if he didn't know what else to say.

"Where's Mrs. Daniels?"

"She went to get a cup of coffee."

"Oh."

"Did you get to talk to Chelsea?" He asked, rubbing his face with his hands. If it was possible, Raven thought Chester had aged ten years in one day.

"Yeah, but not a lot."

Chester nodded and then sighed heavily. "I still don't understand how this could have happened."

"I'm sorry." Raven said, lowering her gaze to the floor.

"Don't apologize Raven. It's certainly not your fault; you're just as much a victim as my Chelsea. It's not like you could have known that this was going to happen."

Raven rolled her eyes a little. "Yeah…I guess." Boy, it was going to be hard to keep the Daniels out of the psychic loop if she and Chelsea were going to spend forever together. Raven figured that one day she would have to tell them. Today was not that day though. She decided to change the subject. "So, how long will Chelsea be in here?"

"The doctor said a few days. You're welcome to visit any time."

Then, Chester surprised Raven by approaching her and pulling her into a hug. She tensed up at first, uncomfortable with the contact since they had barely spoken to one another properly over the years, but then she relaxed, putting her arm around him, patting him on the back.

"I know you love Chelsea very much Raven. If only you knew how happy you made her."

Raven could feel herself getting choked up. "She makes me very happy too Mr. Daniels."

Chester let go, smiling a little. "Please, call me Chester."

Raven squinted and tilted her headin reluctance, unsure of that idea. She instead just nodded and then said, "Well, I should probably go. My mom's waiting."

"All right. Go home, get some rest." Chester said, slipping his hands into his pockets. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Raven nodded. "Bye."

* * *

Raven found her mother and Eddie talking to two police officers, one man and one woman. Tanya pointed to Raven, who walked over to them very quickly. 

Both officers turned. The lady spoke up first. "Hello. I'm Officer Jenkins; this is my partner Officer Sanchez." The woman said, pointing to the man, who nodded curtly. "We understand that you and your friends were attacked."

Raven nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay, we're going to need you and Mr. Thomas to come down to the station and write a statement." Officer Jenkins said, looking from Raven to Tanya.

"Actually," Tanya said, "we're very tired. Raven's had a long, long day. Is there any way we could possibly come in at a later time?"

"Well, we prefer that she come with us now, so the details are fresh in her mind--" Sanchez began, but Raven interrupted.

"Don't worry Officer. I remember every single thing that happened and I'm not going to forget it."

"All right. Why don't you come down to the station tomorrow then?" Sanchez said and both Raven and Tanya nodded.

"How about you Mr. Thomas?" Jenkins said and Eddie shrugged. "Tomorrow as well?"

"I guess so." Eddie said, holding his stomach a little. "I'm kinda beat."

Both Officers nodded. "Understandable." Jenkins said. "We'll let you go. We'll see you tomorrow."

"Thank you Officers." Tanya said as the cops left. Then, she turned to Raven. "How's Chelsea doing?"

"She's okay. She didn't stay awake too long."

"That's all right. As long as Chelsea's going to be okay." Tanya said.

"I knew she was going to be okay." Eddie said again and Raven nodded, wrapping her arm around Eddie and leaning her head on his arm.

Tanya walked over to the waiting room chair, grabbing her purse. "Eddie, do you need a ride home?"

"Yeah. Thanks Mrs. B."

"No problem. Let's go home and get some rest."

They wearily exited the hospital together, exhausted from the day's events.


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 32

"So, this is exactly what happened?" Officer Sanchez asked Raven for what seemed like the millionth time. Raven sighed heavily, sat back, and nodded. She didn't mean to be cranky; she wanted to cooperate as much as she could. But she had to get up early to come down to the station, and thenthey kept her, Tanya and Eddie waiting for hours and her arm was starting to hurt. When Officer Sanchez finally decided to grace them with his presence, Raven wasn't exactly in a happy-go-lucky mood.

Plus she was losing crucial visiting time with Chelsea.

The "interview" room wasn't exactly cozy either. The room was plain white with ugly green tile. The bright sun shown through large, caged, un-shaded windows, slowly burning the back of Raven's neck. As she sat in the uncomfortable blue plastic chair, leaning her uninjured arm on the cold, hard, white Formica table, Raven didn't think she could handle much more of anything.

"Yes, Officer that is exactly what happened."

Sanchez sat back in his chair and nodded, sipping his semi-cold coffee. "All right then, that's all we'll need for the moment."

"Then we can go home?" Eddie said from a chair off to the side. Tanya perked up as well.

Sanchez nodded. "Yes. If we need more information, we will contact you. Thank you for your time and cooperation." He said, getting up and opening the door.

Raven, Eddie and Tanya got up at the same time and nearly ran for the door. Raven exited first, but then stopped in her tracks.

There, right in front of her, a mere twenty feet away, Rocky was being escorted in by Officer Jenkins. He was hand-cuffed and his head was hanging low, but he didn't look remorseful…he looked irritated. It was almost as if this was a major inconvenience to him. Raven's jaw tightened as she squinted in fury.

"You." She growled lowly, zeroing in on him. Tears of anger burned her eyes.

Rocky looked up and stopped walking, making Officer Jenkins bump into him. "Keep moving." She ordered, but Rocky didn't budge. He looked Raven in the eye…and smiled.

"You son of a bitch!" Raven shouted, unable to control herself. "How could you!" Raven began to walk toward Rocky quickly, but Tanya held her back.

"No baby, don't!"

Raven struggled with Tanya, choking on a sob. "How could you do that to her! What did we do to you? Huh? What did Chelsea do to deserve this?"

"Rae, Rae stop!" Eddie said, grabbing Raven by the shoulder, but he was sending Rocky his own death glare.

Officer Sanchez ran out of the room and stepped between Raven and Rocky. "Get him outta here!" He shouted to Jenkins, who shoved Rocky with such force that he stumbled.

"Hey, watch it!" Rocky hissed as Jenkins pushed him into another room.

Tanya wrapped a nearly hysterical Raven into a tight hug. "It's okay Raven. It's all right. It's okay."

"Is she going to be all right?" Officer Sanchez asked and Eddie shook his head.

"No. Not right now."

"Thank you Officer." Tanya said, still hugging Raven tightly. "Let's go."

The three walked out of the police station and to Tanya's car. Once inside, Raven had calmed down. She wiped the remaining tears away, breathing deeply to calm herself.

"You okay Rae?" Eddie asked from the back of the car, reaching up and touching Raven on the shoulder.

Raven nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. I just…something just snapped inside me."

"It's understandable sweetie." Tanya reassured. "The important thing is that he's in there. They got him and hopefully, justice will be served."

Raven looked at the police station one more time before saying, "Can I go see Chelsea now?"

"Of course." Tanya answered, starting up the car.

* * *

Raven and Eddie walked down the hallway to room 337, each holding something for Chelsea. Eddie had some "Get Well Soon" balloons and Raven held a nice bouquet of flowers. They knocked on the door softly before entering, finding Charlene sitting in a chair by a sleeping Chelsea's bed. 

"Hi." Raven whispered and Charlene smiled.

"Hi, Mrs. Daniels." Eddie said, walking over to Chelsea's bed and tying the balloons down.

"Raven, Eddie, how nice of you to come. How did things go down at the station?"

"All right, I guess. We made our statements." Raven told Charlene. "How's Chelsea doing?"

"Much better, thank you. The doctors say she'll be fine in no time."

"That's good." Raven sighed in relief.

"That's great!" Eddie exclaimed…just a little too loudly because Chelsea stirred.

Everyone leaned in closer as Chelsea's eyes fluttered open. She did look more awake and alert than yesterday; a good sign. "Hey." She mumbled, rubbing an eye with her good hand.

"Hey sweetie. How are you feeling?"

"Okay." Chelsea whispered, smiling a little as Charlene kissed her on the top of the forehead. It was then that she noticed Raven and Eddie standing there. "Oh my God, are you guys okay?" Chelsea cried, sitting up straighter in her bed. "Rae, what happened to your arm?"

"I'll leave you three alone for a bit." Charlene said, grabbing her purse. "Would any of you like anything from the cafeteria?"

All three teens shook their heads. Charlene nodded and then left the room. Chelsea watched her go and then asked again, "Raven…your arm. Oh and Eddie, your eye--"

"I'm fine." Raven said, moving to the other side of Chelsea's bed and sitting down.

"Me too." Eddie said, moving closer. "We should be asking you how you're doing. You're the one in here."

Chelsea leaned back, closing her eyes. "My head hurts."

Raven ran a hand across Chelsea's forehead and down the side of her face. "You want me to call the nurse?"

Chelsea sighed, opening her eyes and looking at Raven. "No. It's okay." Then, she saw the flowers and balloons. "You guys…you didn't have to do that."

"Are you kidding?" Eddie exclaimed, looking around the room. "This room needed a little cheering up. Look at this place all dark and gloomy. How's anyone supposed to get better in such a sad room?"

Both Raven and Chelsea laughed at Eddie's antics as he waved around wildly, pointing out all the depressing things in the room. After a while, Raven scooted down the bed until she was lying right next to Chelsea, intertwining her fingers with Chelsea's. Chelsea leaned her head on Raven's shoulder and Raven felt her heart melt.

"Uh Eddie, why don't you take a balloon to Ben. I'm sure Chelsea's room ain't the only depressing one in this place."

"Oh, so that's the way it's gonna be. Y'all trying to kick me out huh?" Eddie said, pretending to be hurt as he unwrapped one of the balloons. "If y'all wanted to be alone, just say so."

"Ve vant to be alone." Raven replied in her best Greta Garbo impersonation.

Eddie rolled his eyes. "Then I shall go. Ben's probably more fun to hang out with anyway." He said, sticking his tongue out. Eddie took a bow before leaving.

Raven turned her head to Chelsea, whose eyes were partially closed. "Hey, how's your arm?"

"It's okay. Doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would. How about your arm?"

"It's fine."

There were a few moments of comfortable silence before Raven whispered. "I was so scared."

"Of what?" Chelsea said, her eyes slowly closing.

"Of losing you. When I saw you fall…and then you wouldn't wake up…I don't know what I would do without you."

"I'm okay. S'okay."

"Yeah." Raven said softly, leaning over a little and kissing Chelsea's on the mouth. Chelsea mumbled something, but it was so soft that Raven couldn't understand what she said. "Go to sleep baby." She whispered, kissing Chelsea on the side of the head.

Seconds later Chelsea was fast asleep on Raven's shoulder. Raven kissed Chelsea on the side of the head one more time before leaning her head on Chelsea's. She closed her eyes, but didn't sleep.

She couldn't. Every time she tried to, she pictured Chelsea falling.


	33. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

**_Author's Note: All righty folks, I'm just poppin in to tell everyone that I have absolutely no idea how a real Police interrogation goes...I'm just sort of working with all of the stuff I've seen on "Law and Order." And even then, I don't really do it any justice...ahahaha! Get it? "Justice!" It...it's supposed to be fun--forget it. Jeeze...tough crowd. _**

**_Ahem...All right, onwith the story..._**

* * *

Chapter 33

Michael sat in the intentionally dark interrogation room with his face in his hands. He was tired, felt defeated, and was wracked with guilt. When the police arrested him, he had been walking aimlessly around Main Street, thinking about what had happened.

_"Michael Whitman." The police officer said, getting out of his patrol car._

_Michael stopped, took one last drag of his cigarette, flicked it away and turned around. "What?" He boomed, even though he already knew what the police wanted._

_The officer pulled out his handcuffs…_

They had been holding him there for a few hours and no one had come to speak to him. He was just about ready to snap when the door opened and someone stepped inside. It was a man, a police officer, with a pencil, a notepad, and a steaming cup of coffee.

"Hi there," The man greeted politely, "I'm Officer Sanchez."

"When can I call my grandma?" Michael asked, rubbing his tired eyes.

"We've called her for you. She's on her way down to the station as we speak."

Michael straightened up in his chair. "She's seventy eight years old! She can't get here by hers--" Michael stopped when Officer Sanchez raised his hand.

"Don't worry, Mr. Whitman. We sent someone out to get her. She'll be fine."

Michael calmed down again, leaning his head up against his hand. "I didn't do anything." He said, knowing what Sanchez was going to say.

"Okay, but you did, however, know that Rocky Collera, Deckland O'Malley, and Tyrone Jacobs were planning to do something to the girls, right?"

Michael shrugged.

"Did you or didn't you?"

When Michael didn't answer, Officer Sanchez sighed and took a sip of his coffee. "What is this huh? Are you trying to cover for your friends?"

Michael glared at Officer Sanchez, but didn't respond. If he ratted Rocky out, that would be the end of him for sure.

"It doesn't really matter, Michael. We have four eye witness accounts that place all of you at the scene. All of your friends have been arrested. I'm just trying to help you out here. Do you realize how much trouble you're in? Being eighteen, you can be tried as an adult, do you understand that? This is being recognized as a hate crime. Did you know that?"

Michael shook his head.

"Look, I know you're not a bad kid. You just got mixed up in something that got way out of hand. I know this. But don't think the jury's gonna see it the way I see it. To them, you're just another punk. If you are tried with the rest of your buddies, you could go to jail. Not juvenile detention…jail. But, if you cooperate, I can help you out. I can make sure that you don't set foot inside prison. Don't you want that?"

Michael looked at Officer Sanchez, thinking it over.

Sanchez continued. "Michael, you can tell me, man. Your friends aren't going to hurt you if you do. You're perfectly safe, man. I promise you."

Michael looked at Sanchez with watery eyes. "What's gonna happen when he gets out? Huh? I'm as good as dead."

"When who gets out? Rocky?"

"He…he's my best friend, man. The-the fucking only friend I ever had in my life. I-I don't say no to anything he asks for…how the fuck do you expect me to rat him out?"

Sanchez exhaled heavily. "Look, I understand--"

Michael stood up quickly, knocking his chair over, but Sanchez didn't move. He didn't even blink. "No! No you don't! Nobody understands! Rocky is the only thing in my life…that I've always had. Not my ma or my dad, not my grandma and grandpa…nobody else. I lose him and what do I got? Nothing. Nobody at all."

Sanchez looked directly into Michael's eyes. This kid wasn't going to say anything. He was too loyal, or too stupid, probably a little bit of both. Maybe, just maybe…if Sanchez were to say that Rocky abandoned him…

"Really, Mr. Whitman? You say Rocky is your best friend? Some friend he is. He said it was all your idea."

Michael looked at Sanchez, completely stunned for a moment. Then, he shook his head. "No."

"No what?"

"No, that ain't true. You're lying."

"He's was just in the other interrogation room, telling my partner that you planned it all. That you had a crush on Chelsea Daniels and when you found out she was a lesbian, you snapped."

"No…no." Michael shook his head. This couldn't be true.

"It drove you crazy that she wouldn't go out with you. You couldn't take it any more. So after school, you planned to--"

"THAT'S A LIE!" Michael screamed, hearing enough.

"You're so-called 'best friend' sat down and told my partner that it was all you and that you made him do everything he did. He sang like a Canary. He ratted you out. It's a real shame that you feel the need to stay so loyal to him. Apparently, he doesn't feel the same way."

Michael leaned back against the wall, hot tears running down his cheeks. "I-I never wanted to talk to her. Rocky made me do it. Like I give a shit about some dyke. I don't care! She never did nothing to me! But Rocky wouldn't let them alone. He just kept on pushing and pushing…and he got me in trouble! I got two weeks of detention because of him! Then, he got me suspended. He got all of us suspended! It was his fault!"

Michael slid down the wall to the floor. He felt like such a baby, crying like he was, but he didn't know how to stop it. "He went and fucking wrote that shit all over their lockers! I didn't! I didn't do a damn thing! And we all get suspended because of something he did and he says it was the girls' fault! So he made a plan. I didn't want to do anything to them…I didn't even like them. But when Rocky starts you can't stop him, and I couldn't say no because I didn't want to lose my best friend! Some fucking best friend…"

By this time Michael had become so distressed that he was practically choking on his sobs. Officer Sanchez got up and ran to the boy, putting his hands on Michael's shoulders, trying to calm him down. "All right, all right…"

"I didn't do anything to them, I swear I didn't!"

"Listen, I know that you didn't attack the girls. Eddie Thomas even said that you called the ambulance for them, correct?"

Michael stopped crying long enough to mutter a low, "Yeah."

"It'll all be okay. Rocky doesn't even have to know that you told us anything. I promise he won't find out. But…you have to tell me everything. Every little thing you can remember. You have to help me. Can you do that?"

Michael wiped his tears, sucking in air in short gasps. He relaxed, hanging his head, staring at the floor. Officer Sanchez waited patiently for a response; he knew the kid was going to crack. After a couple of minutes of silence, Michael looked up at Sanchez, his eyes filled with pain and sorrow.

"What do you want to know?"

* * *

Ben turned the television off, lying back in his hospital bed and sighing loudly. He had been stuck here for three days and it was starting to get to him. He had never broken a bone before, but he didn't think it would be as hard as it was to deal with it. Having his leg trapped in plaster wasn't fun at all. It itched, it hurt…it itched and hurt at the same time. It was so heavy too. Getting up to go to the bathroom was an adventure all its own. 

His parents weren't helping either. Julia fussed over him constantly, fluffing his pillows and straightening out the blankets; she even offered to help him with going to the bathroom. It was really embarrassing. Ben knew it was only because she loved him, but there were only so much a man could take.

Philip was an entirely different story. Philip would come to the hospital and terrorize the doctors and nurses with his lame, "knock-knock" jokes, complain about the hospital food (even if he wasn't the one eating it) and would turn the television to "The Medical Channel" to watch horrible and depressing documentaries about people with 200lb tumors and rare skin disorders. Then he would fall asleep with the remote in his hand and Ben would be stuck watching the show. Ben knew that his father cared for him, and that's why he came to visit for hours, but there was only so much he could stand.

Eddie and Raven had stopped by as well, and they weren't bad, but they didn't stick around as much as his parents did. Some of his other friends came for a visit on the second day of his hospital stay, but they had a football game today and couldn't visit any more.

Philip and Julia had gone out to dinner after Ben practically begged them to leave. (He didn't actually tell them to get out…it was more of a, 'go have a good time' kind of thing.) Now, he was all alone, there wasn't anything on T.V. and there was nothing to do. Ben closed his eyes thinking he could try to take a nap when there was a soft knock.

"Come in." Ben said, wondering who it could be.

Chelsea shuffled in, wearing a polka-dot hospital gown with scrub pants and plain white socks. She had her broken arm in a sling, hanging loosely over her chest. She looked tired, but good. Ben sat up in his bed and smiled.

"Chelsea, how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay." She said softly, smiling a little as she reached the side of his bed. "How are you doing? How's your leg?"

"It's okay…just itches a lot."

"Tell me about it." Chelsea said, looking at her own cast.

"How's your head doing?"

"Okay. The doctor said the stitches are coming out in a few days." Chelsea said, feeling the back of her head."

"Should you be out of bed?" Ben asked, seeing how pale Chelsea looked.

Chelsea shrugged. "I couldn't stay in there for one more second. I heard you were still here, so I came to visit you and thank you for helping me and Raven."

Ben looked away. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be in here."

"That's not true. It was Rocky's fault."

"If I didn't try to tackle Rocky, he wouldn't have thrown me into you--" Ben started, but Chelsea cut him off by placing a gentle hand beneath his chin and leading his gaze back to her own.

"Ben, you were only doing that because you wanted to help me. Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault at all. So cheer up mister."

Ben lowered his gaze and smiled a little.

"Come on Ben."

"All right, all right." Ben finally relented. He couldn't remain sad around Chelsea, no matter how guilty he felt.

"Good." Chelsea said and kissed Ben on the cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Ben said, sighing loudly.

Chelsea looked around the room, pulling up a chair and sitting in it. She noticed a once vibrant "Get well soon" balloon all deflated, hanging from the end of Ben's bed by the bright red ribbon attached to it, slowly floating just centimeters from the floor. "Looks like your room depressed the balloon." Chelsea said, pointing.

Ben nodded, but didn't say anything. The room remained silent for a few minutes before Chelsea took the remote from Ben's bed. "Hmm, I wonder what's on."

"Nothing." Ben said as Chelsea turned the television on and began to flip through the channels. She stopped flipping a few channels later, sitting up straighter and smiling widely.

"Ooh! The National Dog Show is on! How could I forget?"

Ben groaned, leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "Oh God, not the All Animal Network!" He whined, laughing a little when Chelsea shushed him.

"Oh, look at that cute little puppy!" Chelsea cooed, speaking as if she were actually talking to the dog. Ben looked at the screen and frowned.

"Chelsea, that's a Saint Bernard."

"I know! Isn't he adorable?"

The big, slobbery dog walked swiftly up and down the ugly green mat, dragging his handler around. People clapped as the announcers spoke about the breed. "How much longer is this on for?" Ben asked.

"Well, from what I can tell…I think we have three more hours to go!"

Ben exhaled. "I'm going to need more painkillers then."

Chelsea swatted at Ben's arm. Ben laughed, leaning back in his bed. He watched Chelsea as she pointed out all of the different breeds of dogs, telling him random facts about each and he began to feel better than he had in days.

This was one visit he actually enjoyed.

* * *

Chelsea leaned her head against the car door window, watching as clouds flew by rapidly. 

"Honey, are you okay?" Chester asked, darting his eyes from the road to Chelsea and back to the road again. Chelsea moved her gaze toward him for a moment before taking its place on the window again.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I can't wait to get home." Chelsea answered, meaning every word. After four days, Chelsea didn't want to see the inside of a hospital for the rest of her life. She just wanted to go home, take a nice, hot shower, and crawl into her soft bed.

"Are you hungry? Your mother is making veggie burgers and fries."

"That sounds great." Chelsea said. It had been a while since she had some normal food. The hospital kept trying to get her to eat meat. It was like she was the first vegetarian ever admitted into that place. She had been living off of frozen peas, instant mashed potatoes and Jell-o for what seemed like forever.

They pulled up to their house; Chester got out first and ran around the car to help Chelsea out. "Dad, I'm fine." Chelsea said, giving her father a small smile to reassure him. He nodded, backing away.

"I'll get your bag, you just go on inside."

Chelsea closed the car door and made her way up the stairs to her house. It felt so nice to be home again. She opened the door, stepped inside and nearly jumped out of her skin when people yelled, "SURPRISE!"

After the initial shock, Chelsea looked around. Above the doorway leading to the living room was a very nicely designed sign that read, "**Welcome Home Chelsea**!" Colorful balloons seemed to be attached to everything in sight. Charlene, Eddie, Tanya, Victor, Cory, and Raven were all standing in front of the entrance, smiling. Chelsea rolled here eyes and smiled, walking into the living room.

"You guys…"

Charlene was the first to move toward her, kissing Chelsea on the forehead and resting both hands on her shoulders. "Welcome home sweetie, how are you feeling? Is your head all right? How's your arm?"

"I'm good Mom. A little surprised, but good."

Raven was next, wrapping Chelsea in the best hug she could with both of them having their arms in slings. "Is it too much? Too many balloons?"

"It's perfect. Thank you." Chelsea said, kissing Raven on the cheek.

One by one, everyone else hugged Chelsea and asked how she was, and then they all sat down for some veggie burgers and fries, followed by cake. Not once did they mention the incident, and everyone had a good time.

After a while, Eddie had to go. He had to get home and baby sit his little brother. Chelsea thanked him and gave him a great big hug before he left.

While everyone elsewas cleaning up, Chelsea took Raven by the hand and started to lead her to her bedroom. "Hey Chels, are you okay?" Raven said, concerned.

"I'm fine." Chelsea whispered as they entered her bedroom. Closing the door, she said, "I just wanted a few minutes alone with you."

Raven smiled, walking over to Chelsea's bed and sitting on it. Chelsea did the same, but when she hit the bed, she fell back and sighed happily. "Oh my God, I've missed this bed! I don't ever want to leave it again."

Chelsea laughed, sitting back up again, but stopped when a tear trickled down Raven's cheek. "Hey, why are you crying?"

"I'm sorry Chelsea." Raven whispered hoarsely, turning toward Chelsea.

"For wha--wait, oh not you too!" Chelsea shook her head in a tsk-tsk fashion. "Raven, it's not your fault."

"I know. It's just…I should have told you about my vision--"

"Hey, hey. Rae, I made Ben keep his vision from you. We both made that mistake." Chelsea said, taking Raven's good hand with her own. "Now come on. I don't want you to feel guilty any more. I mean it."

"I was so afraid that I lost you forever. WH-when I thought about you d-dy…I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think…couldn't live if you…" Raven trailed off, another tear running down her face. Chelsea felt her own eyes grow watery as she slowly wiped Raven's tear away with her thumb.

"Well, don't worry, because I'm not dead. I'm fine. We're going to be fine. And I'm not going to leave you…ever. You can't keep blaming yourself for something Rocky and his stupid gang did. It happened, it's over, let's move on." Chelsea placed her hand on Raven's cheek, rubbing her thumb just beneath Raven's eye.

"Every time I close my eyes I can see you falling." Raven whispered hoarsely. "I don't know how to make that stop."

"It will, because every time you open your eyes I'll be here. We'll get through this. We will." Chelsea pulled Raven into a tight hug, resting her head on Raven's shoulder. She couldn't believe that she was actually the stronger person at the moment. She had never seen Raven so vulnerable; it scared her. They had to be able to move past this. If they couldn't, Chelsea wouldn't know what to do.

After a while, Chelsea broke from Raven and looked deep into her eyes. "Are you okay?"

Raven nodded, sniffling one last time. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll be all right."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I feel much better."

"Okay." Chelsea stated before there was a knock on the door. "Come in."

Charlene opened the door. "Hi girls, sorry to interrupt. Raven, you're parents wanted to let you know that they're leaving in a few minutes."

"Okay, thanks Mrs. Daniels."

"We'll be out in a little bit, Mom." Chelsea added, and Charlene nodded.

"All right…as you were." Charlene said awkwardly and both Raven and Chelsea's eyes grew as wide as saucers.

"MOM!" Chelsea said between clenched teeth, turning at least fifty different shades of red. "We were just talking!"

"O-oh! Oh my. I'm so sorry!" Charlene half-laughed out of humiliation. She quickly said, "I'll leave you alone," before closing the door.

"Oh my God." Chelsea muttered, closing her eyes and shaking her head. She was sure she would die of embarrassment when Raven started to laugh. Chelsea opened her eyes and stared at Raven, who had started laughing so hard that tears were rolling down her cheeks. "What?" She asked, beginning to laugh herself.

"Girl, you should've seen your face!" Raven said breathlessly between her laughter.

"That wasn't funny!" Chelsea shrieked, but she was nearly as hysterical as Raven. Soon both girls were in stitches with tears running down their faces as they laughed.

They fell back on Chelsea's bed, their heads touching as the laughter died down. Chelsea turned her head to Raven and kissed her sweetly on the cheek. Raven smiled, turning back to Chelsea. "What was that for?"

Chelsea shrugged. "I don't know. I just wanted to do it."

"Well then, this is happening." Raven said, kissing Chelsea on the lips as passionately as she could. Chelsea rolled on to her side, making it easier for Raven to kiss her. Raven pulled her closer and then led them both to an upright position (because of their arms) and kissed Chelsea with such a passion that it sent tingles up and down her back.

Chelsea ran a hand through Raven's soft hair and then ran her hand down the side of Raven's cheek. They continued to make out, barely coming up for air, when suddenly Tanya yelled from outside.

"Raven! Let's go!"

Raven reluctantly broke away, panting heavily. Chelsea smiled and kissed Raven quickly. "I missed that." She said as both girls stood.

Raven pushed a stray hair behind Chelsea's ear and ran her fingertips down her jaw line, tickling Chelsea's face. "I did too." She smiled, kissing Chelsea one more time.

"RAVEN!"

"All right! I'm coming!" Raven shouted and Chelsea chuckled a little. Raven sighed, grabbing Chelsea's hand and giving it a small squeeze. "I'll call you when I get home."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too."

They kissed one more time before Raven finally left. Chelsea shuffled back over to her bed and plopped down, yawning as she made herself more comfortable. She scratched her hand just outside of the cast, wishing that somehow she could scratch inside it, because the itching was just horrendous. Chelsea frowned as she thought about Raven. She looked so sad, it made Chelsea's heart hurt. Raven shouldn't feel as guilty as she did, but Chelsea didn't know how to fix it. Well, maybe Raven had to fix it herself. Whatever it was, Chelsea was too tired to figure out anything now. The shower would even have to wait. Her eyes burned from fatigue, so Chelsea thought the best thing to do was close them.

Soon, she was asleep.

* * *

**_ Happy Halloween!_**


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 34

"So, how does it feel to be free?" Eddie asked Raven, who was moving her arm around so rapidly he was afraid she was going to jam it up again.

Raven looked over at Eddie, who was sitting on her bed. She turned back to her mirror, examining the inner and outer parts of her forearm, and rubbed her elbow. "You know, you never know how important having two arms is until you lose one."

"Rae, you didn't actually lose your arm. It's still there."

"Yeah, but I couldn't use it." Raven muttered, preoccupied as she bent and unbent her arm. She looked up suddenly at Eddie, gasping. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"It's cracking!"

"What's cracking?"

"My elbow! Listen!" Raven softly shouted, unbending her arm and then bending it again. Eddie leaned in closely, scrunching his face in concentration.

"Oh yeah."

"Oh yeah what?" Raven panicked.

"Something's definitely cracked…you. I can't hear anything; have you lost your mind?"

"It doesn't feel the same." Raven moved on as if Eddie hadn't just called her crazy.

"Well stop bending it so much."

"Tell me the truth; is one arm shorter than the other?" Raven said, holding both of her arms out to Eddie.

Eddie got up, took both of Raven's hands, and forced them down to her sides. "Rae! You have only been out of the sling for an hour! You've had that thing on for a week. Your arm is going to feel weird, but it ain't any shorter and it ain't cracking so please stop messin' with it!"

"Ooh…I'm detecting a little attitude problem." Raven said, moving to her bed and sitting down.

"I'm sorry." Eddie said, running a hand through his short hair. "I haven't been getting much sleep lately."

"Me either." Raven said softly, her eyes wide but unfocused.

"Chelsea's been calling me a lot."

Raven looked at Eddie. "How is she?"

Eddie shook his head a little before taking a seat next to Raven. "See now, I thought that was something you were supposed to know."

Raven frowned and her shoulders drooped.

"Chelsea says she hasn't seen or talked to you for days."

"I-I figured she needed some rest." Raven stammered, looking anywhere but directly at Eddie.

"What's up Rae? Why are you avoiding Chelsea?"

"I…I…" Raven sighed, closing her eyes and hanging her head. "I don't mean to. It just…every time I see Chelsea I think about what happened and how I could have stopped it."

"Chelsea thought it had something to do with that. Look, you can't keep blaming yourself. No one else blames you. Rae, you're hurting Chels more than helping her."

"Well, what do I do?"

Eddie shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that Chelsea needs you, just like you need her. And not being with her when you both need each other so much isn't a good idea."

Raven whimpered a little, doubled over and put her face in her hands. Eddie put a comforting hand on her back, patting it slightly. "What are you going to do Monday when we go back to school?"

Raven shrugged as a muffled, "I don't know" came out.

"Why don't you go talk to her?"

Raven sat back up and looked at Eddie.

* * *

Chelsea slipped her headphones from her ears and tossed them aside, sighing very loudly. Sam perked his head up from the foot of her bed, but put it back down once he realized nothing was wrong. 

Chelsea looked around, wondering what she would do. Her parents had left her alone for the first time since she had come home from the hospital and Chelsea was starting to miss them. When they were out, the house was quiet…too quiet.

Chelsea inched herself upward into a sitting position and then whimpered as that all too familiar itching feeling filled her plastered arm. She tried to ignore it. She tried to think about other things, but her arm itched more and more until she couldn't bear it. It was then that Chelsea snapped.

Smacking the cast as hard as she could she shouted, "God freaking stupid damn cast! OUCH!" Her last stroke had been so hard it rattled the cast and her broken arm, sending needles of pain throughout it. Tears burned her eyes, not because of the pain, but because of the frustration. Raven hadn't talked to her all week and it hurt Chelsea. She knew it was because Raven was feeling guilty; what she couldn't understand was why they couldn't work through it together.

Worse than the pain, however, was the intense anger that Chelsea felt for Rocky and his crew. Why did he have to pick on them? Why couldn't he just leave them alone? Hadn't he done enough almost destroying their relationship by spray painting that word on their lockers?

Every time Chelsea thought about Rocky she felt her face get hot. She was never a violent person; she never had a reason to be. But every time she though of Rocky she felt like hitting or kicking or throwing something.

"_MIKEY CATCH THAT BITCH"  
_  
She heard him all the time: when it was quiet, when she was alone, at the dinner table, in her dreams…everywhere. 'I need Raven,' Chelsea thought miserably. Nobody understood how she felt but Raven. Eddie and Ben were there, but they weren't the ones being attacked. They weren't the intended targets; they were just an unfortunate miscalculation on Rocky's part. Raven was the only person who went through the same thing as Chelsea…and she wouldn't even talk to her.

Sam, sensing Chelsea's depression, moved further up on the bed and nudged Chelsea's hand with his nose. Chelsea smiled a little, patting the dog on the head. His tail wagged slightly as he licked her hand.

"Thanks Sammy." Chelsea said as the dog laid down and rested his head on her stomach. "At least you're here--"

**DING DONG.**

Sam looked up toward the door, a slight curious growl escaping his mouth. Chelsea sat up. "Now who could that be?"

**DING DONG!**

Both Chelsea and Sam got up from the bed. Sam's paws clicked on the hardwood floor as he ran to the door. He barked twice, wagging his tail. Chelsea walked to the door, looking at Sam. She opened the door a crack, peering outside.

Raven stood on the step just in front of the door with a big bouquet of flowers in her hand. Chelsea's heart fluttered as Raven looked up and right into her eyes.

"Hey."

"What are you doing here?" Chelsea asked, her words firmer than she actually wanted them to be.

"Can I come in?"

Chelsea nodded, opening the door all the way and stepping back. Raven stepped in, smiling as Sam barked loudly, wagging his tail rapidly. She bent down and rubbed his head. He sniffed her and then walked away. She straightened back up, holding the flowers awkwardly. "These are for you."

Chelsea took them and tried her best to smile. "Thank you." She walked through her living room and in to her kitchen with Raven in tow. "Let me put these in water."

"Let me help." Raven said, grabbing a clear glass vase that was sitting just above the sink on the window sill. She filled it half way with water and placed it on the counter. Chelsea slipped the flowers in, taking one in her hand and smelling it.

"They're beautiful." Chelsea said to Raven, but it lacked any real emotion. "So I see your arm's all better."

Raven nodded. "Yeah. I gotta clean bill of health today. How about you? Are you okay?"

Chelsea sighed and walked into the living room, making Raven's stomach flip. Her heart leap up into her throat. "Chels, what is it?" She shouted, following the red head through the living room and into her bedroom.

Chelsea sat down on her bed and Raven followed. She grabbed Chelsea's good hand, her eyes filling with nervous tears. "What is it? Is it your arm? Your head?"

"I'm okay. The cast comes off in a couple of weeks. Doctor said my head's fine, I just need some more rest."

Raven sighed in relief, closing her eyes and titling her head back. "Oh God, Chels. You scared the crap outta me just now."

"Really?" Chelsea said, looking away, "I didn't realize you cared."

"What? Of course I care!" Raven shouted in her high-pitched squeal. "Girl I love you, I wouldn't know what to do if something was wrong. How could you think that--"

Chelsea cut Raven off. "Well I don't know Rae. Could it be that you haven't come to see me or called in the past few days?"

"You know I care about you Chelsea. And you know that it's…it's just been really hard for me the past couple of days."

"What? It hasn't been hard for me? Do you think you're the only one who can't sleep at night? You think you're the only one who can hear their voices in your head all the time? I was there too Rae."

"I know, I know!" Raven shouted, frustrated. "I-I just feel that I could've stopped it. That if I told you about my vision before the attack…you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

Chelsea sighed and shook her head. "Raven, it's not your fault. Please, please stop blaming yourself. You couldn't have helped what happened. And even if you did, Rocky would've found another way to hurt us, you know that. All we can do is deal with it, and I don't want to do that alone. I can't do it alone. I need you to be here with me."

"I'm sorry." Raven whispered, realizing that Chelsea was right. Raven needed her too; Chelsea had always been a great source of comfort, even when they were just best friends. They should work through it all together; it would definitely be better that way. Raven wrapped Chelsea in a tight hug, resting her head on her shoulder. "Forgive me?"

"Of course."

As they broke apart, Chelsea laid back down on her bed. Raven got up. "You're tired, you want me to go?"

Chelsea shook her head, grabbing Raven's hand. "No. Just lay here with me for a little bit, okay?"

"Ooh snuggling! We really haven't tried that yet." Raven said giddily, hopping on to the empty side of Chelsea's bed. Chelsea laughed, shaking her head. Raven moved in closer, wrapping her arm around Chelsea's waist and resting her head on her shoulder.

Chelsea inched into Raven, moving her body so they would fit together perfectly. "You know, you can sleep too." Chelsea said, her eyes already closing. "Because, I'll be here when you wake up."

"I'll try." Raven whispered, but she feel her eyelids getting heavy too. She hadn't slept well in days and there was something about holding Chelsea that made her feel so comfortable. Raven kissed Chelsea on the cheek and whispered, "Good night." in her ear.

Soft, slow breathing was the only response Raven got from the slumbering Chelsea. Raven smiled, resting her head by Chelsea's once again…and she drifted off to sleep.

For the first time in what seemed like forever her dreams weren't about Rocky or that horrible day.


	35. Chapter 35

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with "That's So Raven."**

Chapter 35

Raven, Chelsea and Eddie stood in front of Bayside High's entrance. They stood there, staring, remembering the horrible events that occurred. Raven could almost see Chelsea and Ben rolling down the hard stone steps; it made her shiver.

Chelsea took in her surroundings, sighing heavily.

Things were normal around them. There were regular students walking around everywhere. Small circles of high school cliques littered the campus. Girls ran up to their friends, squealing as if they had been apart for months, instead of just hours. Guys tossed footballs, baseballs, and Frisbees. Off by the trees, an apparently intense game of "Hacki-Sack" was going on. The "Paper Ball War" carried on as usual. Boom boxes blared all different types of music from all corners of the campus. Bicycles whizzed by, the football coach's whistle sounded off in the field, and loud, meaningless chatter surrounded all three friends.

"So, you ready to go in?" Eddie asked, although he didn't seem so sure himself.

"Just…in another minute." Raven said and Chelsea nodded.

Someone shouted, "Cookie-lips!" off to the left of Eddie, making him jump. He turned, waving as Chantel ran up to all three of them. "Hey! How are you guys feeling?"

"We're okay." Raven said.

"Just a little nervous." Chelsea added. Chantel nodded, understandingly.

"Must be hard."

All three friends nodded slowly as they stared at the once safe, once harmless building. Now it seemed to loom over them, enveloping them in its overwhelming shadow. Raven swallowed hard; it looked as if a dark, stormy cloud resided over the school. Lightening bolts pierced through the grey masses…well, she thought she saw lightening.

"So, how's Ben?" Chantel asked, noticing that he wasn't there with them.

"Ben's going to be out of school for another week." Chelsea answered. "He's okay though."

"That's good." Chantel barely whispered. The trio looked so frightened, so nervous, that it was starting to make her nervous too. Breathing deeply, Chantel grabbed Eddie's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "You can do it." She assured Eddie when he looked at her, giving him a brave smile.

"Yeah, we can." Eddie stated, breathing deeply himself. "We can do this. They're gone. Ain't nothing gonna hurt us in there."

"Except Ms. DePaulo." Raven said, making them all chuckle. "Let's go." She said, taking Chelsea's hand in her own. Chelsea steeled herself, raising her head in what seemed to be bravery, but Raven could feel Chelsea's pulse through her fingers. They both glanced at one another, exchanging supportive smiles.

It was a slow, nervous climb to the entrance doors, but once the quartet got inside, confidence seemed to take over. They moved to their lockers; Eddie and Chantel were just around the corner from Raven and Chelsea.

Raven grabbed her books from her locker and shut it, frowning at the difficulty Chelsea was having. Chelsea's broken arm was getting in the way. She couldn't keep her book bag on and take all the stuff she needed from the locker. Raven rushed to her, grabbing her books. "Here, let me help."

"Thanks." Chelsea said, laughing a little. "You know, you never realize how important having two arms is until you lose one."

"My thoughts exactly."

"YO BAXTER!" Bianca yelled and Raven winced, shrinking her head into her shoulders.

"Oh my God, Bianca." Raven whispered to Chelsea as Bianca, Muffy and Loca walked toward them. "Why me?"

Both Raven and Chelsea turned to Bianca, Muffy and Loca. Most of the students in the hallway turned their attentions toward the girls as well.

"Bianca, Muffy, Loca…" Raven said as sweetly as she could, "What can we do for you?"

"Bianca would like to know if it is indeed true that you got Rocky Collera and his gang kicked out of school." Muffy said, looking from Bianca to Raven and back.

"Well…Rocky attacked us, so yeah. I guess so."

Silence filled the normally buzzing hallway as Bianca arched her eyebrow and squinted, apparently lost in thought. Eddie and Chantel were standing off to the side, blocked by other students. Raven exchanged a worried glance with Chelsea.

"He attacked you cause you're gay?" Bianca asked in her usual fierce voice, sending chills down Raven's back.

Raven nodded.

"That ain't right." Bianca stated, and Muffy and Loca nodded in agreement.

Raven didn't know what to say to that. Yes, of course it wasn't right, but why did Bianca care? Then, totally surprising Raven, Chelsea and the entire student body, Bianca said gave Raven a friendly hit on the shoulder and said, "You're all right Baxter. You too Daniels."

"Uh…thanks, I guess." Raven said, a little stunned. Chelsea could only stare at Bianca with her mouth open. Bianca sent her a somewhat friendly, somewhat irritated smirk before the fearsome trio left. The crowd of students surrounding them slowly broke away, but they were whispering and a few were very rudely pointing. Chelsea got her jaw to quit hanging from her knees long enough to turn to a very confused Raven, Eddie, and Chantel.

"What was that all about?"

Eddie and Chantel both shrugged at the same time. "Beats me." Eddie said, looking at Raven.

Raven smiled a little and shook her head. "I think things are going to be different around here."

"By different I hope you mean better." Chelsea said, suddenly depressed by all the attention she was getting. They had just gotten rid of one set of bullies, Chelsea didn't want to be the center of attention for others. Maybe Bianca was being nice, but Chelsea didn't need anything from Bianca, certainly not her approval.

Raven scrunched her forehead in concern. "What's up Chels?"

"Nothing. Let's just get to class." Chelsea grabbed her books from Raven and headed off to class even before the bell rang.

Raven and Eddie exchanged a glance, worried about Chelsea's sudden mood change. They had all been nervous before entering school, now it seemed like Chelsea was downright sad. Eddie, Raven and Chantel followed Chelsea just as soon as the first period bell rang.

* * *

Students flooded the hallway as the lunch bell rang, grabbing things from their lockers: lunch bags, wallets, walkmans, and in some cases books. Eddie, Chantel, Raven and Chelsea walked into the hallway. While Eddie and Raven began to feel a little more at place in school, Chelsea remained in her sour mood. Chelsea walked hurriedly to her locker, not bothering to wait for the others. Raven watched Chelsea run off and then turned to a concerned Eddie and puzzled Chantel. 

"Hey guys, why don't you go ahead and save me and Chels a seat?"

"You sure Rae?" Eddie asked, watching Chelsea as well.

Raven nodded. "Just give me a few minutes."

Eddie put his hand on Raven's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze before he and Chantel went off to lunch. Raven turned, sighing heavily before walking to Chelsea. The hallways were almost completely empty now, giving Raven the freedom to address Chelsea without whispering. "Hey, you need help?" Raven asked, seeing that Chelsea was having difficulty with her stuff again.

Chelsea sighed, clumsily stuffing her books in her locker, grabbing her lunch bag and closing the door. "No. I got it."

"Chelsea, what is going on with you? I know coming back here today was tough, but what happened to all the stuff you said about us going through things together? You're shutting me out."

Chelsea leaned against her locker, hanging her head. "I'm sorry." She sighed, adjusting her sling. "It's just what Bianca did this morning."

"What about it?"

"Why did she have to do that? Make a big scene like that?"

Raven shrugged. "She's Bianca."

"And why did she make it seem like she approved of us? Who says we need her permission to do anything?"

"We don't."

"But didn't it seem like that? I felt like Bianca was saying that it was okay with her if we were together. And she practically announced it in front of the school. Oh, nobody mind the lesbian couple, Bianca says it's okay for them to be together."

Raven was surprised by Chelsea's indignation. "Chels, I think you're reading too much into this. So what if Bianca thinks she needs to give us her approval? Would anything change if she didn't? Would we stop going out if Bianca said she didn't like it?"

"No." Chelsea said, sulking. "I…I just didn't like it, that's all."

"Well, don't worry about it. Come on, Chantel and Eddie are waiting for us." Raven said, putting an arm around Chelsea's shoulder, but Chelsea shied away.

"I don't want to go in there. I think I'm just going to go eat outside, if that's okay." Chelsea said, backing away from Raven. "Come outside with me."

"Okay girl, but I don't have any lunch."

"Split mine."

"Uh-uh. I am not eating a tofurkey sandwich. No way. Let me just buy some lunch and I'll be outside in a snap."

"Okay, I'll be by baby oakey." Chelsea said, referring to the oak tree that she, Raven, and Eddie planted a while back after they basically broke Old Oakey, the rotting oak tree that stood on the grounds before.

"All right." Raven said, walking off to the cafeteria.

She reached the lunchroom, bought a sandwich and a soda, and went over to Chantel and Eddie, who were stuffing their faces as usual. "Hey guys. Enjoying the mystery meatloaf I see?"

"Hey Rae. Where's Chelsea?" Eddie managed to muffle with a mouthful of meatloaf.

Raven scrunched her face in disgust. "She wanted to eat outside…and now I know why, ya nasty."

Eddie closed his mouth and swallowed, embarrassed. After a second, he asked, "You want us to come too?"

Raven shook her head. "No it's okay. I'll see you in a bit." Raven started to walk out of the lunchroom when an idea hit her. She ran back to Eddie quickly. "Wait, could you do me a favor after you finish?"

"Yeah sure, what?"

"You have study hall today right?"

Eddie nodded.

"Me too. Listen, meet me by my locker."

"What are you up to?" Eddie said, squinting his eyes in suspicion.

"I wanna cheer Chelsea up. Don't worry, it's gonna be great!" Raven shouted as she left the cafeteria and ran off to her girlfriend.

* * *

Chelsea, along with the rest of Bayside High, walked into the hallway, breathing a sigh of relief after the dismissal bell rang. It had been a long, long, day and all Chelsea wanted to do was meet Raven so they could go over to her house. 'Maybe we can get some more snuggling time in,' she thought with a slight smirk. Chelsea knew that she had been in a funk all day; it was because of Bianca. She didn't know why, but it really bothered her that Bianca gave them her "seal of approval" this morning. They didn't need that. 

Reaching her locker, Chelsea looked around, searching for Raven, but the girl wasn't there. 'Don't tell me she forgot and ditched me.' Chelsea thought miserably, but then expelled the thought from her mind. Raven wouldn't forget about her. She sighed and opened her locker to throw her books in and jumped back when a white envelope dropped out.

"What the…" She muttered, bending down and picking up the envelope. It seemed oddly familiar to her.

Chelsea smiled as she examined the outside. 'Using my own tactics against me eh?' She thought amusingly to herself. Her heartbeat rapidly increased as she tore open the envelope, revealing the nicely folded white paper inside. She bit her lip, smiling as she read the one very neatly written sentence in the middle of the paper.

**_Meet me in the park._**

* * *

Chelsea arrived at the park entrance twenty minutes later, her heart racing and her breathing excited with anticipation. She slowly walked inside, looking for Raven. Sure enough, there she was, in the center of the park, holding a rose. Raven smiled as her eyes met Chelsea's. 

"Hey."

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Chelsea asked as she reached Raven.

"Hold on, first things first. This is for you." Raven said sweetly, handing Chelsea the rose.

"Thank you." Chelsea said, smelling the flower. She suddenly frowned, lowering her gaze. "I'm sorry about today. I know I was in a bad mood--"

Raven shook her head and put a finger up to Chelsea's lips. "Shh. It's okay. I get it. We don't need anyone's approval. That's why I went and did this."

"What did you do?"

Raven sighed, her shoulders deflating a little. "Well…I kind of copied you. Eddie helped too. He looked for the right guys."

"Huh?"

"You should look up." Raven began, but grabbed Chelsea's chin, preventing the girl from looking upward. "But before you do, just remember that yours didn't come out perfect either."

Raven released Chelsea's head and Chelsea looked skyward, gasping as she read the phrase etched into the sky.

**RAVEN LOVES CHARLIE.**

Chelsea laughed and shook her head, bringing her gaze back down to Raven. It was true that she had done the same thing, but she hadn't been on the receiving end of it. Reading that message, no matter how wrong it was, filled her with so much love and passion for Raven that she thought her heart would burst any second. Tears misted her eyes.

"Those guys are something, ain't they?" Raven said, looking at the sky and back at Chelsea.

"It's beautiful."

"It's completely wrong."

"I know what you meant and it's beautiful to me."

"You're beautiful to me." Raven said, taking Chelsea's good hand. "I love you. I'm going to love you forever Chelsea Daniels. That's what the sky message was supposed to mean. Our love is limitless…like the sky. It doesn't have to be approved and it can't be held down. No matter what happens or who tries to break us…my love for you will rise above it all, like the clouds above the Earth."

A few tears rolled down Chelsea's cheeks as she smiled. Sniffling, she said, "I love you too….always."

Then, Chelsea pulled Raven into a hug, wrapping her good arm around the girl's waist. Raven hooked her arm around Chelsea's waist, bringing her other hand up to Chelsea's face to wipe her tears away with her thumb. As she did, she opened her hand up and cupped Chelsea's cheek. Chelsea closed her eyes and leaned in, feeling her lips tingle as they met Raven's in a long, lovely, passionate kiss.

Both girls knew from that moment on that they would be together forever, happy and complete. No matter what they future held, their love for one another would give them strength to face every new challenge head on.

Nothing would tear them apart.

**The End.**

**

* * *

**

_Author's Note: Hey guys! It's me...and yes, the story is over. I am so thankful for all of your reviews. :) I sent an email to everyone that I could send one to. To those I couldn't: Nicole, Theresa__, iliv4snwbrding,SgtGunny, NWLIFENWWORLD,spartansam086, avdpteatime, longhorn190, andRiki1920----Thank you all so much.__This is the longest story I've everwritten and I'mreally proud of it, but Icouldn't have done it without you guys._

_Thank you all so much!_

_w.t.s._


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